


Strange Magic

by savan1



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bottom Deidara, Creepy Orochimaru (Naruto), Dark Forest, Deidara + Ino + Naruto are siblings, Fairies, Fairy Kingdom, Kakuhida - Freeform, King! Sasori, KisaIta - Freeform, Konan as the sugar plum fairy, Multi, PeinKo, Prince! Deidara, SasoDei - Freeform, Sasori is really cruel to Deidara at first, Strange Magic, Supernatural - Freeform, Top Sasori, Zetobi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-02-07 09:02:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 46,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12837822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savan1/pseuds/savan1
Summary: What was supposed to be a normal spring ball, turned into the possible declaration of war. When a member of the fairy kingdom steals a love potion from the neighbouring kingdom, the ruthless Sasori Akasuna will do anything to get it back. When Deidara is kidnapped and taken hostage, he must abandon all his pride and serve his enemy. But, when it's all over... will they be able to give each other up?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Readers!
> 
> This is my first Sasodei story, so I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. Also, the plot for this story was based off an animated movie called Strange Magic that I saw on Netflix once, although of course it's filled with my own little twists and it's not as cringey.
> 
> If you enjoy this story, try watching Strange Magic. Despite myself being too old for it, and the fact that it's the most cringey movie ever, I like it anyway. It's cute.

 

* * *

 

* * *

This is a story about two kingdoms.

Side by side.

But  _worlds_ apart.

The Fairy Kingdom was bright and full of life and love. Fairies lived there in peace and harmony, ruled over by the Namikaze family. A royal family that believed in equality and kindness, a kingdom where everyone could live without fear. It was filled with bright, blue rivers, vibrant flowers, and little forest animals. It was a place of peace and fun, with royal balls and various festivals each season.

Their King and Queen ruled side by side as equals, and created a kingdom where the royal family was only royal by title. Otherwise they walked the kingdom as if they were regular citizens, meeting up with friends and buying things at the same price as other customers. Sometimes they even paid a bit more if they knew someone was struggling in order to get them back on their feet.

The King was a kind man known a Minato Namikaze, or the yellow flash. He was distinctive among others due to his bright, blonde hair, and his speed when flying was unmatched. He'd participated in many races as he grew up, and had never lost a single one. The Queen was a woman known as Kushina Uzumaki, having made the decision to keep her own last name. She was a fair lady, who cared deeply for anyone like they were her own child.

They had three children.

The youngest of the bunch was a girl known as Ino. She had bright, blonde hair and vibrant, blue eyes, matching her elder siblings. The girl was always the flirtatious one of the family, trying to get close with any guy she laid her eyes upon. Although the young princess also enjoyed having girl time with her friends, or even her mother. She's always been the closest to their parents of the three.

The middle child was a boy named Naruto. He shared the bright, blonde hair and vibrant, blue eyes with the other two, although also had these whisker-like marks on his cheeks that he had been born with. He was definitely the loudest and even more so the most idiotic member of the family, yet he seemed to have this strange ability to make everyone he came across his friend.

The eldest was a temperamental male with golden, blonde hair and blue eyes like the ocean. His overall look appeared quite feminine, yet if anyone dared to mention they would likely not be in one piece for much longer. Deidara had never been interested in social interactions, or much in taking over the kingdom either. He had never really enjoyed having to be serious all the time and having to take responsibility for an entire kingdom. It simply wasn't something he thought he could handle.

The Dark Forest was a very different story, indeed.

Dead plants everywhere, vines hanging amongst the trees. Humongous, faceless insects and devious, unclothed goblins. Terror awaited at every corner, in a place of misery and despair. There was no happiness and no peace, no flowers and no rivers. No chatter and no equality. Yet the biggest rule of all, was that there was no _love_. Simply a King and his subjects, doomed to live in fear. It was a place in which no fairy dared to enter.

All along the border magical flowers grew. Primroses bloomed between light and shadow. They are used to make love potion, because after all... everybody deserves to be loved.

* * *

 


	2. One

The blonde gently placed his feet onto the flower, his wings folding down behind him. Bright blue eyes filled with excitement gazed towards the other two fairies as they collapsed onto the flower. His lips parted in a grin as his pride took over, whilst his siblings remained on their hands and knees. He sighed as he held out his hands, assisting the two to their feet.

Naruto gave his typical goofy grin as he stretched out his own wings. They were a darker blue colour with a thin black border along the very edges. Other than that they were mostly plain, having no other fancy patterns to distinguish him from other fairies with blue wings. Even so, blue wings weren't very common, and most had their wings memorized. Ino's were shaped slightly differently, but shared a similar pattern. Her black border was much thicker though, and her blue much lighter.

Deidara himself had received his wings from his father. It was a very rare pattern, perfectly matching the design of a blue swallowtail butterfly. A pattern found only in the Namikaze family, yet even so it very rarely showed up in the family tree. His wings were a bright blue, lighter than Naruto's, yet darker than Ino's. He had a thick black border around the outside of his wings similar to his sister's, but his wings were more tall whilst hers were more wide.

"Can't you let us win for once?" Naruto whined.

"No way, hm!"

"That's not fair." Ino agreed with Naruto.

"I'm the oldest. Oldest wins, hm."

Both Naruto and Ino let out 'hmph's of frustration at the heaping pile of losses to their elder brother. It made sense as he had a lot more practice in using his wings when compared to his siblings. He was three years older than Naruto, and four years older than Ino. He got in a lot of practice with his father when he was young before the others came along, and eventually he met his own friends whom he raced often. Unfortunately for his younger siblings, they had to share their flying training with each other when they were first learning.

"Can we just go back? I have to get ready for the spring ball!" Ino complained.

"Fine, who's the unlucky sucker this time? Shino?" Naruto teased.

"No."

"Kiba?" Deidara joined in.

"No!"

"Or how about... Neji." The younger brother asked.

"No."

"Lee?"

"No way!"

"Choji?"

"No."

"Wait. Shikamaru, hm?"

"Maybe."

The two elder brothers just smirked to each other at their sister's words, crossing their arms. Ino pouted slightly in frustration at the reaction as if she was waiting to be teased before the two brothers made eye contact. Within an instant they had opened their wings and rapidly began to fly away, leaving their sister in the dust.

"Cheaters!" Ino snarled.

The younger sibling barrelled after Deidara and Naruto, managing to overtake her youngest brother. Deidara laughed as the two began to wrestle for second whilst he took even more of a lead, due to the wrestling slowing the two down. He found himself passing over the main part of town where most of the fairies lived, watching as people went about their business. Several fairies waved to him, which the blonde politely returned, before continuing to race forward as his siblings began to gain on him.

His feet touched the ground just in front of his home, with his two siblings landing a few seconds after. Deidara pushed the doors to the castle open, walking into the front foyer. Both Naruto and Ino sprinted inside, immediately leaping up the stairs in order to arrive in their rooms to prepare for the spring ball later in the day. Deidara gave a grumble of annoyance as he climbed the stairs towards his own room.

The blonde had always loved the balls and festivals held in his kingdom when he was growing up; he still enjoyed them, even now. Yet he always found himself under the pressure of his father. Minato was a kind and thoughtful man, always doing what was best for the kingdom. And that even continued in his family life, through their family's motto. The needs of the many outmatched the needs of the one.

"Deidara, are you getting ready?" His father's voice called out.

"I'm going now, hm."

"Make sure to stand out. There will be many possible future wives."

"I've already told you, I have no interest in getting married."

"Deidara, you don't have a choice. You need to have an heir to take over the kingdom, and that is that."

Deidara muttered many colourful words under his breath as his father continued on his way, and Deidara himself resumed his trek up the large stair case. His long, feminine hair swayed behind him as he walked, and for this reason the fairy found himself to be commonly mistaken for a female. Even in his own kingdom, where he was well known, when spotted from behind he was always referred to as 'Miss'.

He entered his bedroom and walked past the large rose bud in which he'd made into his bed. He moved straight towards his dresser to get out the attire he'd be wearing to the ball. Cold air nipped at his skin as the blonde undressed, the blonde making a mental note to ask his mother for an extra blanket for the night. He pulled on his shirt, which had been made from spring leaves by the finest tailor in the kingdom.

Deidara's clothes had all been made by the tailor, usually specifically made to fit him and no other. The blonde pulled on his pants just as there was a knock at the door. His sister barged in whilst he was fixing his buckle, although he finished only a moment after she'd arrived. Ino seemed to be in a tizzy as usual, and Deidara found himself not surprised. Naruto rushed in about a minute later, each of them looking as if they were panicking.

"Deidara!" The two cried out.

"What is it, hm?"

"She did it!"

"He did it!"

Deidara tilted his head in confusion, resulting in the two siblings holding up a crown. Deidara's eyes widened at the sight, cringing as he saw the large crack in the side. His two siblings were panicked and wide-eyed, neither knowing exactly what to do. After all, they'd broken something that had been in the family for generations after generations. The crown belonged to the first king of the Namikaze kingdom, and was used in all coronations as a sacred object to swear by.

"Take it the Hyuga family. It's their clan that have forged all the crowns belonging to the royal family. Perhaps on of them will be able to fix it, un."

"Good idea!"

The two barrelled out of his bedroom, Deidara sighing in annoyance. They were always hyper and loud, which the blonde had gotten used to, but they also came to bug him every time something went wrong. As much as the prince loved his younger siblings, they were the clumsiest fairies he'd _ever_ laid eyes upon. Overall, they bugged him at least once a day with a new broken, destroyed, shredded, bent, dented, scratched or cracked item.

As Deidara exited his room, he nearly ran into his father who was walking by. Minato gave a nod in approval of Deidara's attire before continuing on, likely to get himself ready for the ball that was soon to come. As the blonde prince wandered the castle halls, he grew quite bored. As he passed his mother, she stopped him with a smile and Deidara was thankful for some sort of entertainment other than wandering around aimlessly.

"Are you excited for the ball, Dei?" She asked softly.

"Somewhat. Otousan is trying to shove marriage on me again, but I don't really have much interest. I don't know why, but I've never been attracted to anyone before. It's something that I can't help. I just... I don't think I'm ready to get married yet, un."

"I understand, sweetie. You take as long as you need. Minato wasn't married at your age either, y'know?"

"Thanks, Okaasan. But please don't call me sweetie, un."

"I can't help it, Dei. I'm sorry."

The prince couldn't help but chuckle as his mother drew out the word 'sorry', a mischievous grin plastered across her face. Kushina had always been kind and sweet, making it priority to keep those around her happy. Even on his hardest days, his mother always managed to somehow bring a smile to his face. It was just something that Deidara grew to love, and he was thankful to have her as his mother.

"Dei, sweetie, why don't you head outside? I'm sure your friends would like to see you, you know?" She suggested.

"Alright. I'll be back in time for the ball, un."

With that the blonde made his way towards the castle entrance where Izumo and Kotetsu, two soldiers, stood guard. Deidara nodded in greeting as they pulled the door open, revealing Kakashi and Iruka, two more soldiers, standing outside. The four would switch between inside and outside throughout the day, in order to keep the outside and inside guarded at all times.

Sometimes two would rest and later they'd switch. Overall the royal family didn't mind as long as there was always one person awake per side. They didn't want to risk an attack or a castle breach from the outside, and they wanted to keep someone from making a run for it from the inside. The doors closed behind him, Deidara nodding to the four gate keepers in thanks.

His wings lifted and the prince took off the ground, heading towards the main part of the village. Many fairies were out and about, although none had a wing pattern quite like his. Deidara was quickly spotted, and he found glances coming his way from every direction. Girls giggled and batted their eyelashes as they tried to catch his attention, but Deidara did not even spare them a glance.

He had absolutely no interest in any of them, and that was something that Deidara couldn't control. Yet it wasn't like the blonde felt no attraction towards anyone whatsoever. He did find himself attracted to people. yet the blonde always said he wasn't. The reason for this, was that he was embarrassed. The blonde always found himself attracted to those of his own gender rather than females.

His kingdom was not ruthless, and love of all sexualities was permitted, yet it was unheard of for the eldest child of the royal family. They were expected to take over the kingdom, and to provide an heir who would take over for them afterwards. An heir. An heir was the very reason that Deidara had chosen to keep his sexuality a secret. He knew his mother and siblings would accept him no matter what he chose, but it was his father he worried about.

Minato was a kind man, and Deidara truly loved his father for the loyalty he showed his kingdom. Yet that loyalty was Deidara's very problem. Even if he told his father that he were gay, he would still need to marry and produce an heir to the throne and therefore it would be overlooked by his father. He knew his father would be unhappy when learning Deidara was gay, so he never said anything.

"Hey, Deidara! Over here!"

He turned his head at the call of his name, eyes resting on a silver-haired male who stood on the ground by his parents' shop. Hidan's family were the best tailors in the kingdom, and also who custom-made all of Deidara's clothes. Hidan had never been very keen on taking over when he was younger, but as he grew older he had surprisingly developed a strong love for making clothes.

"Hey, Hidan. Aren't you busy at the shop? I mean, the ball's tonight, un."

"Yeah, but the only fucking outfits left are techniques I haven't fucking learned yet. I'd have only got in the way."

"Aren't you always in the way?"

Hidan whipped around in annoyance to glare at the orange-haired male, a string of curses immediately escaping his mouth. Many glances moved in their direction, resting on the prince in shock as he once again spent his time with such a vulgar-sounding fairy. Pein, noticing the glances, covered Hidan's mouth. The obnoxious tailor began to thrash around and throw Pein off, but the fairy completely refused to let go. Unfortunately for Hidan, there was no escape.

"They're looking again, idiot. When you talk like that it reflects badly on Deidara."

"It's fine, un. Not like I care."

Hidan sent a smug smirk in Pein's direction, attempting to taunt him with threatening looks. Pein only sighed at Hidan's reaction, raising an eyebrow in Deidara's direction as he laughed. Itachi and Tobi landed soon after, finishing off their group of friends. Pein's family designed furniture, and owned a little furniture store down the street.

Itachi and Tobi were each members of the Uchiha clan, who served as the kingdom's soldiers. All Uchiha were raised as soldiers, and only very few got out of it due to illness. However, anyone else who volunteered could also become one of the kingdom's soldiers. Deidara always found it wrong to force his people to join the army, yet he was not king yet. Until Deidara became king, his opinions would not matter.

"You're dressed up. Why are you ready for the ball so early?" Itachi questioned.

"Tobi thinks Deidara-Senpai looks awesome!"

Deidara sighed in response to Itachi's question, completely ignoring the orange-winged fairy. His friends seemed to understand exactly what that meant, and each attempted to comfort him in their own way. His friends were the only ones to know of his sexual orientation, and the only reason he'd mentioned it was because majority of them had already revealed themselves to be the same. The only straight one among them was Pein, yet none of the friends were actually _interested_ in each other.

"So, what the fuck did Naruto and Ino break today?" Hidan questioned.

"Something extremely valuable. I sent them over to the Hyuga's to get it fixed, un."

"They broke that crown, didn't they?" Itachi deadpanned.

"Yeah, un."

"They better hope it's fixable." Pein sighed.

"Tobi is scared for Deidara-Senpai's brother and sister!"

"Hey, you guys want to race? For old times sake, un?"

"Hn. Fine." Itachi agreed.

"Tobi does! Tobi does!" The man-child squealed.

"Sound like a fucking challenge." Hidan agreed.

"You're on."

And they were off.


	3. Two

**Sasori**

"News from the border, your highness."

Harsh brown eyes moved over, falling on the dark blue-winged faerie who kneeled before him. When he rose once more, he stood slightly over six feet tall, allowing him to tower over the king. Even so, some say that the shorter someone is, the closer they were to hell. This statement was in every way true when it came to the bog king, otherwise known as Sasori Akasuna.

He was ruthless, and said to be one of the darkest and cruelest rulers in the history of the dark forest. He was easily annoyed, and he never showed mercy. Even on those he called his friends, there was no second chance whatsoever. Kisame knew this quite well, and for that reason he was extra careful not to provoke his king.

"What is it, Kisame?"

"Haku reported back that a male fairy crossed the border into the dark forest."

"Assemble a squad consisting of your best trackers. Find him, and bring him to me."

Kisame nodded in response and quickly left the room, leaving Sasori to rest on his throne. He was thankful for a silence, yet it was soon cut off as he heard an elderly voice from the entrance to the throne room. The king sighed in annoyance as his head lifted, his eyes meeting his grandmother's.

"What do you want, Granny Chiyo?" He demanded.

"Well Sasori, I found someone I'd like you to meet." She grinned.

"I told you before, I have no interest in your little games."

"Come on, Sasori. She really like art." Chiyo tried to tempt him.

"Get out, Granny."

"Okay, no need to be so rude. Yeesh."

Sasori groaned in annoyance as his grandmother took his leave, the brown-winged faerie following after her. His grandmother had made it her mission to become his match maker as soon as he turned ten years old. Sasori was now thirty-five, and she was still at it. One would think that after twenty-five years the old hag might give up, but Sasori was not that fortunate.

He was pretty sure he'd met every single female faerie in the kingdom from his grandmother's set ups. Many he'd seen twice, some he'd seen three times and there was one or two that his grandmother had brought back repeatedly, more times than the bog king could count. She cared not for ages, bringing woman on their death bed to those who had been just been born days before.

His head lifted as someone cleared their throat by the entrance, and Sasori nodded in greeting. Kisame entered once more although was now joined by Kakuzu, one of the elders in his kingdom. Yet despite age, the man was able to move around as if he were twenty. He didn't look much over thirty either, and Sasori never completely understood that, yet he never mentioned it. He himself appeared to be only fifteen, when in reality he was twenty years older than that.

"I've sent a squad after the fairy," Kisame announced, "he should be caught and brought here soon."

"Good. Who was sent?"

"The party consists of Karin, Suigetsu, Jugo and Sasuke as their leader." Kisame replied.

"Very well. If they are to fail, I want all of them to report to me. Immediately."

"Understood, your highness. I will pass on the message if that happens."

"You've done well, Kisame. Return to your post."

The extremely tall male lowered to the ground to bow before he rose to his feet once more. Sasori watched him exit the throne room, returning to his post just outside the door. It was his job to relay messages between the king and the others in the kingdom. If they wanted an audience with the king, the request had to go through Kisame. The only ones that this rule didn't apply to were Chiyo, since she was also a part of the royal family, and Kakuzu, whom gained special privileges as an elder.

"Kakuzu, what is it?"

"I did a bit of poking around about the intruder, and I found out something that I don't think you'll like."

"Tell me."

"The fairy had a primrose petal."

Sasori's eyes widened at the words, before a familiar singers suddenly began to echo through the base. Sasori hissed as he reached for his wooden staff, slamming it into the ground. Kakuzu's face remained solem as the doors opened, Kisame entering the throne room. His ears had gotten quite good at picking up the sound of Sasori slamming the staff against the ground, and it had become the way that the redhead usually summoned him.

"You highness, is that...?"

"Send soldiers to her cell right away," Sasori ordered, "and do not let that fairy escape!"

Kisame moved to the side of the throne room, slamming his fist into a trigger in the wall. A loud noise filled the castle, one recognized as the alarm. But not just any alarm, the Sugar Plum alarm. The playing of it meant only one thing, and one thing alone. Someone was making... love potion.

Sasori snarled in anger as he rose from his throne, pushing past both Kakuzu and Kisame. The two followed after him as he made his way towards the stairs leading to the cells where prisoners were kept. The singing only grew louder as they reached the bottom, and they next thing Sasori knew a familiar purple-winged fairy was flying towards him. The Sugar Plum fairy, Konan being her real name, moved higher as she attempted to pass him, yet the king reacted much quicker than expected.

The next thing Konan knew, she was on the floor at Sasori's feet. She looked towards him fearfully, and she knew that she would not be making her escape. At the snap of Sasori's fingers, she was dragged backwards by Kisame. The cell door closed and locked behind her, leaving her to stare at the bog king through the bars.

"What did you do?" Sasori hissed.

"Why don't you take a guess?"

"Konan, answer me."

"Or what, you'll lock me away?" She taunted.

Sasori whipped around as he stormed back up to the throne room, Kisame and Kakuzu following once more. The redhead snarled at the four who kneeled before his throne, each flinching at the sound. Footsteps echoed throughout the room as Sasori moved closer, an angered look on his face.

"You failed." He hissed.

"He was slippery, your highness. It won't happen again." Sasuke spoke.

"It better not. Because of you four, I have to fix this myself."

"Please do not be angry at Sasuke, your highness. It was my fault, I lost the trail." Karin begged.

"Did I ask you to speak, bitch!?" The king snapped.

"N-No, your highness."

"Then shut your trap. All four of you get out of my sight, before I change my mind about being nice."

All four jumped to their feet and immediately charged out of the room, each fearful to spend one more second in the same room as their king. For him to overlook something like this was rare, and it was an opportunity that they likely wouldn't get again soon. They wanted to take the chance they'd gotten, and that's exactly what they planned to do.

"Now, it looks like there's something we need to get." Sasori spoke.

"Now that I think of it, the fairy kingdom in having a ball tonight. Is that right, your highness?"

"Indeed it is, Kisame. What do you say we go party-crashing?"

"Of course, your highness. I'll gather the soldiers immediately. We will be waiting for you outside."

Kisame bowed quickly before turning and rushing from the room, likely an attempt to gather soldiers as quickly as possible. He didn't want to keep Sasori waiting, and it was well-known throughout the kingdom of how impatient the king was. If one was on time, in Sasori's mind they were late.

"Good. Kakuzu, will you be joining or would you like to stay behind with Chiyo?"

"You're not dumping her on me. I'm going along."

Sasori's wings sprung up, showing off the design to Kakuzu who stood next to him. The king's wings were black at the top, although became accented by red in colour towards the bottom. His wings had followed the rare trait in his clan, perfectly matching the wings of a Scarlet Mormon butterfly. Sasori stepped behind his throne where his armor sat, quickly pulling it over his head.

  
"Oh, Sasori!"

  
"What is it this time, Granny?"

  
"Tayuya likes music. Eh? Do I hear wedding bells?"

  
The king sent a harsh glare towards his grandmother who was attempting to show off a girl standing beside her. He lifted his hand and angrily pointed towards the entrance. His grandmother sighed as she dragged the girl off, muttering colorful words under her breath.

  
"She's very lucky that she's your grandmother, or she would have been killed years ago."

  
"I still consider it each and every day."

  
"I heard that, Sasori!"

  
The redhead groaned at her yell whilst him and Kakuzu exited the throne room. As he arrived outside, his army was waiting with Kisame at the front. Each solider fell to their knees at his arrival, well at least they were supposed to. A young boy remained standing, his eyes widening when the king eyes fell on him.

  
A screech of pain left his lips when a hand harshly connected with his cheek, and the boy collapsed to the floor. It was dead silent among the army, other than the boy's cries, as Sasori's foot connected with his stomach. The redhead snapped a finger and immediately a grey-haired man with glasses was standing at his side.

  
"Kabuto, take him to the dungeon immediately."

  
The boy was dragged off screaming by the prison ward, leaving the rest of the army to fearfully watch the king. He was in a rather foul mood already, so it was the boy’s fault for forgetting, but they couldn't help but hope he was okay. Well, if he would be. Kabuto was the worst there was when it came to push identify, for one reason. He wasn't afraid to lay his hands on a prisoner, no matter the gender.

  
"Now that that's taken care of, I believe we have a royal ball to crash." He chuckled.

  
"How would you like us to react, your highness?" Kisame questioned.

  
"Take a hostage. Anyone will do, their kingdom is too soft. No matter who is taken, they'll do everything they can to get their precious friend back."

  
"Yes, your highness."

  
Sasori took to the sky, his army following close behind. The forest was dark, filled with death and decay. Usually the appearance alone kept the fairies out, yet one had been stupid enough to enter and not only enter, but to attempt to free his prisoner after she made him a love potion.

  
The king sped up slightly, his anger growing. Those fairies had made the wrong choice to mess with him, and for that reason he was going to make the pay. A twisted smirk crossed his lips before a dark and devious laugh began to echo amongst the trees.

  
The army shied away in fear, trembling at the sound. Through there many years in the kingdom, Sasori rarely got into moments like these. Yet when he did, only one thing was for sure. All hell was about to break loose.

  
"I've changed my mind about the prisoner." He announced suddenly.

  
"Y-Your highness, who would you like us to take hostage?" Kisame stuttered nervously.

  
"The oldest brat. I want their heir."

  
Eyes went wide at Sasori's words, fear growing in the many soldiers. Taking a hostage was alright, and not surprising. But taking royalty, let alone the heir to the throne, that was a declaration of war. Yet they dare not question the ruthless king.

  
"Your highness, we'll be crossing the border soon." Kakuzu spoke.

  
Sasori nodded in response as he stared straight ahead, eyes squinting slightly at the bright light beyond the tree line. The border. Where death became life, dark became light and faerie became fairy. He lowered himself to the ground as they reached the border, his soldiers doing the same. Turning his head, the king's eyes fell on the solider he searched for.

  
"Zetsu, go ahead. Get rid of any soldiers on watch."

  
"Understood, your highness."

  
"Everyone else, stick to the shadows. We don't want our little fairy friends to know about their surprise guests."

  
The group dispersed, making their way into the heart of the kingdom. They hid under mushrooms, moved behind plants. Any soldiers they came across were unconscious. Sasori sneered at the sight; Zetsu was always too soft. The king blamed his multiple personalities, considering the nicer half always seemed to win. It was likely the case here as well.

  
Sasori was in a group with some of his more favoured subjects. Kakuzu and Kisame were with him, and had he not sent Zetsu ahead then he would have joined the group as well.

  
"We've almost arrived," Kakuzu spoke, "the other groups will wait for your signal."

  
Sasori looked down at the fairy kingdom's festival, scowling in annoyance. The music was loud in the king's ear, and he remembered exactly why his kingdom never had festivals. They were loud and filled with drunks and people dancing inappropriately. And in this case... a love potion. The bog king could not allow anyone to be dusted for one reason and one reason alone.

  
_Love was dangerous._

  
As he searched the area, he attempted to locate the royal family. He saw a blonde girl with blue eyes dancing with various boys. Sasori scowled at the sight, yet knew exactly who it was. Not only did she possess the physical traits of the Namikaze family, but she seemed to be quite flirtatious and that perfectly matched the many rumors he'd heard of the princess.

  
The next he saw was a hyper boy with spiky blonde. He was bouncing all over the place and talking to everyone he passed. Sasori cringed at the thought of taking the boy, knowing that one would drive him insane. Luckily, that boy was not the heir either. Although he'd never seen the prince, Sasori knew what he'd heard. And finally, his eyes landed on the feminine blonde standing beside King Minato.

  
"Kisame, there's our target." Sasori announced, pointing towards the scowling heir.

  
"Yes, your highness."

  
"Now go."

  
And the faeries sprung into action.


	4. Three

**Deidara**

Deidara frowned from his place beside his father, wondering when this would end. His father had introduced him to several girls and the ball had barely started. Yet the blonde heir stood by his decision to not marry. Even if he became the king after his father, it was unlikely that Ino and Naruto wouldn't have children. When he retired, one of their children could take over in his place. It was something that Deidara had planned from the beginning.

  
"Deidara, this is Miss Sakura Haruno. Sakura, I'm pleased to introduce my son, Prince Deidara."

  
"Hello, Dei. Mind if I call you that? It's nice to meet you!"

  
Deidara frowned as she spoke, cringing at the shrill voice in his ear. He'd only just been introduced to the girl and he already despised her. Deidara hoped his father would give up soon, as he wasn't sure how much longer he could continue meeting more of these annoying females. Although after receiving a hard nudge from his father, Deidara looked towards the pinkette with a polite smile.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Sakura. But please don't call me Dei, un."

"Aww, but it's so cute, Dei! And listen to that adorable speech impediment, I love it so much. Oh, you're so perfect. We're meant for each other I know it!"

Deidara froze as a pair of arms wrapped around him, the blonde prince immediately attempting to get the girl off of him. Luckily his friends were close by and, unlike his father, came to his rescue. The pinkette whined and complained as she was shooed away by Itachi, but Deidara was relieved. Minato seemed displeased, but didn't voice his opinion about it due to the presence of the blonde's friends.

"Your sister is flirting with every guy here," Pein spoke, "some of the other girls are getting jealous."

"Tobi thinks Deidara-senpai should go find his sister!"

"Alright. Thanks for helping, un."

"No problem, Dei."

"Pein, don't call me that, un."

Pein just laughed causing Deidara to frown. He knew that his friends would call him whatever, and that kind of frustrated him, but he allowed it. His friends made him feel like he was normal, as if he weren't a prince. This was especially true considering he was almost on the bottom of their food chain of friendship. They tended to pick on him a bit, but he let them. It was how normal males got along, so Deidara allowed it. He was, however, grateful for being treated better than Tobi.

The blonde wandered off in search of his sister, soon finding her as she flirted with this guy named Kiba. Her body guard, Sai, stood close by with a rather depressed look on his face. It had always been obvious to Deidara that Sai liked his sister, but she'd always been so oblivious from her flirting that she never noticed. He even felt bad for him, but the feeling rushed away when he saw Sai trying to open a small vile that he removed from his pocket.

Just as Ino turned, Sai began to move the dust closer. Deidara panicked as he ran forward, a screech of panic escaping his lips. Eyes fell on him, as did Sai's, and everything seemed to stop. The pale boy seemed to realize what he was about to do and he froze. However during this time, another figure moved in to take the love potion from his hand without a soul noticing.

For they were all screaming in fear as the faeries attacked.

Deidara ripped a sword from his belt, metal clashing against metal. His sister cried out in fear from behind him, and the blonde taunted the men near her, allowing his sister a window of escape whilst Sai snapped out of his confusion and began to fight against the intruders. The Prince found himself surrounded by more soldiers than any other fairy in his kingdom, yet he refused to give up.

But a dark and sadistic laugh echoing through the air was enough to freeze every single being to a freeze. Everyone including himself. Using his moment of fear, a tall man will slightly blue-looking skin used his own sword to knock the weapon from Deidara's hands. The blonde's eyes widened in fear as a foot mad contact with his back, sending him crashing to the floor.

The faeries moved aside, keeping a line between the fairy kingdoms' people and their own; but they made sure each and every fairy could see their Prince on the floor. Blood escaped Deidara's mouth as he coughed, the foot on his back pushing him harder into the ground. He struggled to look up, but even as he did all he could see were feet before his head was slammed back down.

"It's been a while, Minato." A voice spoke from above the blonde.

"Indeed it has... Sasori."

Deidara's entire body tensed at the name, fear skyrocketing in his chest. He had never met the man before, no, but everyone had heard of this man. Sasori Akasuna, the cruel and ruthless ruler of the dark forest. One who would destroy anyone and anything if it benefitted him somehow. His name was the one used in children's stories, to scare the young into obeying their parents. Deidara himself remembered being told the stories when he was little.

"I'm offended, Minato. I mean, no invitation?" The voice chuckled.

"Why are you here, Sasori? Release my son, now!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that. Not until I get back what was stolen from me."

"What are you talking about!?" Minato demanded.

"One of your fairies infiltrated my castle, and worked with the Sugar Plum fairy to create a love potion." Sasori hissed.

Gasps filled the room, fairies whispering to each other in horror. Deidara could barely see his father when he looked up, and his face was covered with pure shock. Yet Deidara knew exactly who had taken it. The blonde looked weakly towards Sai, who seemed to have a panicked expression across his face. Yet Deidara understood where he was coming from. Unrequited love, was one of the most painful things in the world.

"No volunteers? Don't you want to save your precious heir?"

Deidara cried out as a hand harshly gripped his hair and he was yanked to his knees, the foot having moved off his back. The Prince couldn't help but tremble in the bog king's grip, attempting to pull away. The blonde struggled and flailed ad kicked with all his might, but it was ended as a hand harshly connected with his cheek. More gasps filled the room at the sight, before a foot was slammed into the blonde's stomach.

He doubled over in pain, and only then did the pale-skinned boy step forward. Sasori looked to him with a glare and slowly moved slower, Sai gulping in fear. Deidara scrambled to his feet, attempting to run, but was grabbed by a tan-skinned man who wore a mask over his head before he was thrown back down to the ground and the blue-skinned male who had unarmed him held him down.

"Where is the potion?" Sasori demanded with a snarl.

"I-It was taken." Sai stuttered.

"You lie."

"N-no! It's the truth."

Sasori smirked as his hand wrapped around the boy's throat. Ino cried out in fear at the sight as Sai was lifted off the ground, yet Sasori did not kill him. He was thrown against the wall harshly, coughs escaping his lips, whilst the king returned to Deidara who was laying on the floor. Deidara attempted to look up but the king's foot held his face in the dirt.

"I and this prisoner will be returning to my castle. Until the potion is returned, you'll never see him again."

Deidara struggled to get away as he was yanked to hit feet, but the next thing he knew a sac was thrown over him. The blonde let out a wail of fear as he struggled in the bag, desperately trying to find his way out. He found himself lifted off the ground, and the cries and screams coming from his people. Yet the Prince was not one to easily let himself be kidnapped.

He flailed, thrashed, kicked, screamed and fought. The blonde refused to give up, and more and more soldiers had to go back to take over or help and the blonde grew more violent. He was afraid, and the reason was quite simple. He couldn't see, and he was being taken by strange people to a strange place. A place that he'd grown up fearing, and avoiding as much as he possibly could. Yet now he'd be stuck in the heart of this place, vulnerable and weak.

Deidara felt himself slam into the ground, a whimper coming from his lips. The bag was ripped off his head and Deidara found himself off the cold floor. When he looked up, his eyes fell on the man sitting on upon the throne.

  
The colour of his eyes reminded the blonde of chocolate, yet his gaze was in no way near as sweet as the delicious treat. A twisted smirk crossed the king's face and Deidara shivered as his eyes fell on the Crimson red hair, reminding him of blood.

“What's your name, brat?” He demanded.

The Prince didn't reply, and Sasori scowled as he grew annoyed. Kisame and Kakuzu each took a nervous step back as the king rose to his feet. Deidara glared at his captor with a defiant look in his eye, gaining some confidence one more. Yet the redhead did not like this, not one bit.

“Tell me your name.” Sasori repeated.

“No, un. I wo-ouch!”

The blonde cupped his cheek with a whine as it began to sting, the king before him still holding his hand out. Deidara's shirt was grabbed before Sasori lifted him into the air with ease, tightening his grip more as the blonde struggled. Deidara coughed heavily as his airway was slowly cut off, and that was when he finally gave in.

“D-Deidara, un…” He wheezed.

“Very good, brat.” Sasori sneered as he released him.

Deidara’s body hit the floor, and the Prince grabbed his knee in pain from the force. Sasori only scoffed at his reaction and the blonde shrunk under his gaze. The redhead seemed pleased at the reaction as he towered over his prisoner, and Deidara looked away with a slight flinch.

“Aww. Does the little brat want his mommy and daddy?” Sasori sneered.

“I'm not afraid of you, un.”

“Your trembling tells me otherwise.”

Deidara grew more shaky as Sasori moved closer, a hand moving under his chin. As he was forced to look up, the blonde truly got a chance to look into the king's eyes. They were a beautiful brown and the Prince mentally cursed himself for his attraction to the King. Sasori only smirked once more as he stared at the heir, and that left the blonde breathless.

“I just thought of what I can do with you until your kingdom comes to get their precious Prince back.”

"I won't do anything you say, un."

"I seriously doubt that, brat."

"Don't call me a brat! I told you my name, use it, un."

"You're not in a position to telling me what to do, brat."

"Don't call me a brat, un!"

Deidara flung his fist towards the king, but his fist was easily caught. Deidara snarled before attempting to use his other arm, but it was also caught. He let out a screech of pain as the grip on his wrists tightened, now desperately attempting to pull away from Sasori's grip. The redhead sneered as his grasp tightened, watching as the blonde begged to be released.

"Are you going to do what I tell you to, brat?"

"I'll never do wh-ouch! Stop, you'll break them!"

"Yes or no, brat."

"Y-Yes. J-Just let me go!"

Deidara hugged his wrists to his chest as Sasori let go, trying to wipe the tears from the edges of his eyes. Sasori only laughed at the sight, the blonde flinching back slightly. Sasori only laughed louder, and from the corner of the Prince's eyes, Deidara could see the two other men cringe backwards.

"You're a spoilt brat, but that's something we can fix."

"I-"

"Do you want me to break them, brat?"

Deidara cringed back and Sasori nodded before snapping a finger. Within seconds Kisame and Kakuzu were at the blonde's sides. Deidara was yanked to his feet by the two, his eyes hardening towards the king. Sasori only smirked as Deidara felt something chained to his feet. As Deidara attempted to move his foot, he almost tripped. When he looked down, he noticing the heavy weights that had been put on his legs.

"That'll keep you from running, don't you think?" Sasori smirked.

"B-bastard, un!"

"You'll be working as my personal servant. Maybe that will teach you some manners, brat."

"But..."

"Does the poor little Prince not know how to take care of himself? Aw." Sasori cooed teasingly.

"How the fuck do you expect me to serve you when I can't even fucking walk, un!?" Deidara snapped.

"I suggest you learn. I hate to be kept waiting, you know."

"You motherfucking bas-"

"A Prince shouldn't use such language, brat. Now, about that nickname. I don't think I like it very much. How about you call me... Danna."

"Like fuck I'll call you Danna, un!"  
"I could always break your wrists instead, brat."

"Y-Yes...."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, D-Danna..."

"Much better. Don't you think, Kisame?"

"Indeed, your highness."

With a nod from Sasori, the two men released the Prince. Deidara attempted to step back but stumbled backwards from the weights around his legs. He wasn't used to that much weight, and it was much to heavy for him. The blonde glared at the king as he laughed, barely managing to stand once more. Deidara struggled as he attempted to lift his feet, trying to get used to the strange weight.

"Brat, I want this room spotless."

Deidara's eyes widened as a pale and a sponge were shoved into his arms, him almost stumbling backwards. When the blonde just stood there confused Sasori stood once more and shoved the blonde down onto his knees in front of him. He looked up to Sasori in surprise but after seeing the look in his eye the Prince quickly looked down and began to wet the sponge in the pail.

He could hear snickering from the king and the two others in the room as he began to scrub the floors, each roaring in laughter. Deidara's confidence began to plummet at the sound, more fear forming in his chest. He slowly felt more and more helpless as he scrubbed the floor like a slave. The Prince had never done anything like it before. He'd seen maids from the castle staff doing so, but never had he himself been asked to do any work at all.

His job was to rule and be in charge. Yet here he was on the floor, scrubbing dirty floors like a peasant. He yelped as a foot hit his side, causing him to fall to his stomach. His arm knocked the pail as it tipped over, spilling all over the blonde. The roaring laughter from behind him grew louder as he weakly looked back, to see Sasori looming over him with a challenging look on his face.

"I didn't see you there, brat." He sneered.

Sasori removed his foot and Deidara began to rise once more. The foot slammed onto his back once more causing a cry of pain. Sasori pushed the blonde harshly against the floor, and Deidara could feel the tears escaping his eyes. Sasori chuckled at the sight as he held the crying Prince against the cold floor.

"I never told you to rise, brat."

"L-Let me go, un." Deidara murmured.

"Excuse me, I didn't quite catch that."

"Get off, un!"

"Beg for it, brat. Beg for it like the groveling peasant you are."

"Danna, please. Please let me up, un." Deidara whimpered.

"You may stand. Finish your cleaning, brat."

The foot lifted and Deidara moved back upwards, watching the king head towards the entrance. Kisame and Kakuzu moved after him and soon Deidara found himself completely alone in the throne room. When Deidara was sure they were gone, he pulled his knees to his chest. The trembling grew once more and the Prince could no longer physically control it.

No one was there to hear the blonde's sobs.


	5. Four

**Sasori**

 

"There's my favourite grandson!"

"What do you want now, Granny?" Sasori hissed.

"She's a cute one, isn't she? Where did you meet?"

"For your information she is a he."

"Oh, I didn't know you swung that at, Sasori. You should have told me before."

"I don't. I'm not gay." The redhead hissed.

"Then why'd you bring him here?" Chiyo smirked deviously.

"He's the heir the throne in the fairy kingdom. He remains here until the love potion is returned." Sasori replied.

Chiyo frowned at her grandson's response and Sasori took this moment to quickly move past her. He didn't have time for her silly romance games. He had a kingdom to run and a love potion to get back, and now a prisoner he had to keep alive. Sasori had no time for 'love'. A pathetic emotion that only created weakness in one's heart. The king scoffed as he even thought about it.

He was hoping for a peaceful afternoon of reading before he would head back to torment him prisoner. The redhead found it quite amusing to watch the boy bow before him like a slave, if his kingdom saw him acting in such a way he'd be ridiculed for sure. Sasori could never be bothered to deal with every punishment, and for that reason he left most cases to his soldiers, yet there were some in which the king found himself to be very interested in.

Those cases were typically when the prisoners were much more resistant, or one of a noble blood whom would normally give out the punishments he was receiving to others. Sasori found their actions ironic, and of course the poor nobles had no idea how to do simple tasks that he ordered them to do. It was entertainment for him to make it difficult for them to do things that they couldn't even do in their own home.

Although back to his hope for a peaceful afternoon, that was something he apparently was not aloud to get. Unfortunately for Sasori, his grandmother had followed him and was now proceeding to blab his ear off about things that he really couldn't care less about. Sometimes he really wished that if she were to disappear, he wouldn't be suspected. Or that he was just aloud to get rid of her. But... neither of those things would happen.

"Sasori, Orchimaru likes snakes."

His grandmother had dragged the poor, unsuspecting soldier into the castle as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. It was only then that Orochimaru realized what was going on, and his eyes widened in surprise before stopping on the redhead. Orochimaru simply smirked slightly, and Sasori scowled, glaring harshly towards the pale man whom he'd always found difficult to trust.

"Interesting that would be," Orochimaru smirked, "to top the king."

"Excuse me?" Sasori choked.

"You're choking already? My, I haven't given you anything to choke on yet."

Sasori covered his mouth with his hand as he began to feel sick to his stomach, and the redhead desperately attempted to keep his breakfast down. His grandmother seemed quite content as she tried to bring Orochimaru closer, but Sasori took an equal amount of steps back. When he finally regained his composure, both others froze at the sight of his harsh glare, feeling shivers move up their spines.

"Orochimaru," Sasori seethed, "if I see you even once for the next week, I will kill you. Get out of my sight."

The snake-man gave a quick bow before exiting the room fearfully, understanding that he'd overstepped many boundaries. Despite the king's advise of one week, Orochimaru would instead give two. He didn't want to take any chances, and he knew he was lucky that he was being letting of easy. There would be no second chances. The only reason he'd gotten the first was because he was indeed a good soldier.

"Chiyo, stop trying to play match maker."

"But 'Sori, do you really want to die alone?"

"Yes, I do. Now get out."

His grandmother rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath as she exited, finally leaving the king alone. He found himself in a foul mood, and no longer felt the need to read like he originally planned. He decided he may as well return to the throne room to taunt the brat more, figuring that it would assist him to calm himself slightly and give him a source of entertainment.

The doors slammed open, and Sasori snickered as the blonde boy almost jumped out of his skin. The moment his eyes fell on the king, he immediately began to clean. As the prince scrubbed the floors, the Crimson haired man slowly moved closer. Footsteps echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls and circling around. He could see the bit trembling as he worked, and Sasori's lips formed a grin.

"You missed a spot, brat."

"N-no, I didn't miss a-anywhere."

"Yes you did, right there."

Sasori kicked the bucket, which had been refilled during the time he'd been out of the throne room, and it went splashing all across the floor. The blonde watched the water with wide eyes before he sent a harsh glare at the redhead. His bright, blue eyes were filled with rage, and his golden hair was sticking out in various directions.

"What the fuck, bastard? I just cleaned all that, un! What the fu-"

The brat's face went flying towards the right as Sasori's hand connected with his left cheek. He went quiet after the contact and his eyes were glued to the floor. A feeling of satisfaction rose in Sasori's chest at the reaction, as he looked down at the younger male fairy.

Sasori chuckled as the blonde wiped his eyes, attempting to stop his tears. Sure, he did seem like a confident brat and definitely had some sort of ego, but not even he had the mental strength against a man like Sasori. Not even the most defiant of creatures could go through prison in his kingdom and come out the same as long as Sasori was involved.

From the hundreds of thousands of faeries whom had gotten in trouble and sent to prison in his kingdom, Sasori largely took part in at least five thousand prisoners' punishments. All five thousand of those people were no longer alive. One fifth were tortured to death, and the other four fifths had commit suicide within a week of being freed.

He wondered what part of the percentage the blonde would take part it. He snickered at the thought of the heir to the throne in the Fairy Kingdom committing suicide. Unfortunately, the latter would be more likely. The brat was his bait, and therefore the king needed to keep him alive. Otherwise, he may not get the potion back.

"Crying already, brat? You're pathetic. I've tortured children more than half your age and they didn't cry once."

"You're the pathetic one. Torturing innocent children... how low can you get, un?"

"I certainly wouldn't call them innocent."

"Then what did they do!? What did I do, un!?"

  
"They disobeyed orders, forgot to bow, did their tasks incorrectly, talked back to me or other soldiers, left their homes after curfew, stole extra food. Shall I go on?"

  
"Does the word 'mercy' mean nothing to you?"

  
The redhead erupted into laughter at the Deidara's question, unable to contain it. Considering the stories told about him, the blonde had either grown up under a rock or his parents had endlessly sheltered him. But when his eyes fell on the blonde prince, he saw that the kid was actually serious.

  
"I knew you were unintelligent, but I didn't think you were that unintelligent, brat."

  
"Hey, un!"

  
"What, did you never hear the scary stories about what happens to little brats who enter the dark forest?"

  
"Of course I did, un."

  
"Then why ask such a stupid question, brat?"

  
"My mother always told me that dark people are able to see even the tiniest ray of light. They just chose to ignore it, like the bright people ignore the darkness. That means everyone, un."

  
"To be expected from your pathetic little kingdom. You're too naiive, brat. That will likely cause your downfall."

  
"Maybe I am naiive, un, but at least I'm not heartless."

  
"Maybe not now, but you will be. Just wait until you gain all that power from becoming king. Then you'll be willing to do anything to get it."

  
"No, I won't. I won't turn into a monster like you, un!"

  
"That's what I told my father, and my father told his father, and he told his father. Such an inspiring little phrase, but it seems to have a curse where everyone who says it... does the opposite. Why would you be different? After all, you're just another little kid who thinks they have what it takes to rule a kingdom."

"I will never rule like you. When I become King, things will change. We'll help the poor instead of watching them starve, the Uchiha won't be forced to become soldiers and the heirs will be able to marry whoever they want or chose not to marry at all as long as they have a younger sibling. I want to make a better place for my kingdom, and that's what I'm going to do, un."

Sasori was silent as he heard the blonde's words, and a feeling of deja vu seemed to wash over him as he saw the determined look on the boy's face. He attempted to shake the feeling away, but it kept returning to him and refused to exit his mind. Although he would never admit it, the king saw a younger version of himself within the blonde. Memories resurfaced within his mind, and he felt himself lost in a flashback.

"Otousan, why can't I go outside to play with the other children?"

"They are below you, and do not deserve your attention."

"But, Kisame is allowed to go out to play."

"Kisame isn't a prince. Now shoo, go entertain yourself elsewhere."

He remembered his father well, and many of the decrees he had passed. Sasori had always found his mother to be kind, yet she had always put up a front when around his father. After all, his father was ruthless. Sasori recalled many occasions of his father's cruelness. When he was just a boy, he one day attempted to sneak out in order to play with the other children. His father had grown angry when discovering that he had disobeyed, and all of the children with tortured to death.

"Such big words for such a pathetic, little brat." Sasori taunted, regaining his composure.

"I'm not like you, un. I'm not anything like you. I will change the way of my kingdom, and then you'll see, un."

"And what makes you think that you'll even become king, brat?"

"I'm the heir, un!"

"Perhaps. But doesn't the heir have to be in his own kingdom to rule it? I have a feeling that you won't be leaving for a long time now, brat. After all, that bodyguard of your sister lost the potion. If he had been from my kingdom, he'd have been executed on the spot."

"Can't you see how wrong that is? He didn't do it, he stopped himself. Everyone deserves a second chance."

"And that's why you're so naiive. If you rule like that, then as soon as you turn I guarantee... there'll be a knife sticking right out of your back. You're not fit be king, your family is not fit to rule."

"You're wrong, un."

Sasori chuckled slightly at the response as he moved to his throne, leaning back against the cushion behind him. Deidara watched his movements nervously, and Sasori could feel his own confidence growing as the prince's shrunk. He looked down towards the floor and began to scrub it silently once more, struggling to crawl with the weights on his legs. Sasori chuckled slightly as he had an idea and loudly snapped his finger.

"Stop cleaning, brat. Come over here."

Sasori watched deviously as Deidara shyly placed the sponge in the bucket and struggled to get to his feet. He stumbled slightly and almost fell flat on his face due to the weights, but was lucky enough to catch himself. The redhead clicked his tongue in annoyance and began to tap his foot, resulting the blonde moving slightly quicker. He almost tripped on several occasions but, to Sasori's dismay, he managed to stay upright.

"Get down on your hands an knees."

"W-what, un?"

"Hands and knees. Now." Sasori hissed.

The prince slowly lowered himself in front of the redhead, and Sasori reached out and gripped the blonde's shoulder to move him into the right position. The blonde's eyes were filled with fear, and the king couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Fortunately for the brat, Sasori had no intentions of doing what the blonde thought was about to happen. There were too many risks in sexual punishments from infections or pregnancies. That and the fact that Deidara was indeed a male, no matter how feminine he appeared.

The blonde almost collapsed as Sasori put his feet on his back as if he were a foot rest, leaning back leisurely in his throne. Deidara attempted to move away slightly and Sasori scowled as he slammed his feel down onto the prince's back. Deidara yelped in pain and barely managed to prevent himself from collapsing to the floor. Sasori could see how much his body was shaking, and he knew that Deidara would be easy to break.

"S-stop, bastard... L-let me go, un..."

"What did you just call me?"

Sasori dug his heels harshly into Deidara's back, listening to the blonde's cries of pain. He was attempting to get away, but was unable to. He was much to weak, and Sasori had no intentions in leaving him alone. The redhead wanted to avoid killing the brat, but certainly wasn't going to give him a peaceful stay while he was his hostage. He had set out rules, and no matter the brat's nobility, Sasori expected them to be followed.

"D-danna, please... please let me go, un."

"How cute. Just for that, brat, I'll let you go."

"Th-thank you, Danna. Thank you, un."

"You're just as gullible as your are naïve. I almost forgot how much fun it is to torment my prisoners."

"B-but... you said... W-why did you lie, un?"

"The world lies, brat. Get used to it."


	6. Five

**Deidara**

 

Deidara could feel his arms and legs shaking, and he was struggling to stay up. Sasori had been having a long conversation with Kakuzu as he used the prince as a foot rest, and Deidara wasn't sure how much more he could take. He wasn't used to this sort of thing, and never in his kingdom would anyone be cursed with this sort of treatment. He felt lucky that he had been raised there rather than in the dark forest.

  
As Sasori shifted his feet, Deidara's arms and legs let out beneath him. He collapsed onto the floor with a whimper, the shaking not going away. He felt so exhausted; he couldn't even think straight. Something connected with his side and the blonde whimpered in pain, struggling to get up once more.  
But he couldn't.

  
He felt weaker than he'd ever been before. He was exhausted, he was starving, he was dehydrated, and he desperately wanted to be home in his castle with his family. His eyes weakly trailed over to his trembling hand as it rested on the concrete floor. He couldn't even lift it.

  
"Get the fuck up, brat."

Deidara yelped as he felt a foot harshly hit with his side. It hit again, and again, followed by several more times. His mind was begging for it to stop, but he couldn't get away. He didn't understand how even after a week of working for the redhead, he wasn't used to the labour. He felt himself growing more tired and more shaky as the time went on, and he hoped that his family would come for him soon.

"Your highness, don't you think you've overworked him a bit? He hasn't eaten in a couple days, nor has he gotten much sleep." Kakuzu spoke.

"Do I look like I fucking care about the brat's needs?"

"I understand, your highness. But at this rate, he'll die. If he dies, then our bait is gone."

"Hmph, fine. Give the brat to me."

Deidara felt himself being lifted from the ground, and he could see Kakuzu hovering over him. His eyelids were heavy, and he struggled to keep them open as Kakuzu held his body away from him. Deidara felt himself being taken by another pair of arms, and his eyes fell on messy, crimson hair. Despite his blurry vision, he knew that the king was the only one in the dark forest with such hair. That could only mean one thing.

Sasori was carrying him.

Deidara felt Sasori shifting as he walked, and he could just barely make out the designs of the walls. After a minute of walking, he felt himself placed on a chair and someone barked orders from beside him. The blonde's head landed on the table and he groaned on pain, reaching a shaky hand to hold his forehead. A hand hit the back of his head, distracting him from his attempted sleep.

He quickly lifted his head at the continuous taps and instantly felt dizzy from sitting up so quickly. Something waved in front of his face, but he couldn't process it. He just felt out of it, and the next thing he knew there was a pleasant taste in his mouth. He slowly chewed, feeling more exhausted with every movement of his mouth, trying to swallow the food. He didn't know what it was, but it tasted a lot better than the food he normally got.

"Hurry up, brat. You have work to do."

Deidara continued to eat as things were placed in his mouth, but he still continued to feel a bit dizzy. He began to feel sick to his stomach after a couple minutes, due to him getting so used to eating a small amount of disgusting gruel each day. The larger portion and rich taste was too much for his stomach to handle so suddenly, and he struggled to keep the food down.

"You better not puke, or I'll use your hair to clean it up."

The blonde weakly turned his head away, trying to escape the endless food that was being shoved into his lips. It followed him as he turned, and Deidara whimpered slightly. Finally the food was moved away, and the prince found his eyes finally focusing on what was in front of him. Sasori was scowling, holding a plate in his hand. Deidara's hand moved to his mouth as he felt queasy, causing the redhead to snarl.

"I... I don't feel so good, un..."

Sasori rolled his eyes at his words, and Deidara rested his forehead on the table. He could feel his eyes slowly closing, and could barely open them. Exhaustion poked at his mind, and his brain begged for sleep. His request was denied, with a harsh poke at his shoulder. He couldn't even bring himself to lift his head as the finger jabbed into his shoulder once more.

"Get your filthy hair off the table, brat."

Deidara found his head yanked up by his blond hair, and something was shoved into his mouth. He coughed heavily, trying to spit it out before it made him even more sick. Sasori growled as he continuously attempted to get him to eat. His gaze was growing harsher, angrier, and the blonde struggled to ignore it.

"Aww, 'Sori. Are you feeding him?"

Deidara watched Sasori cringe, and his head whipped around to glare an elderly lady. Immediately, Deidara felt himself shoved and he was knocked off the chair. He yelped as his head hit the ground, and slowly curled himself into a ball. He just wanted to sleep.

"Now, 'Sori, that was rude! He may be a prisoner, but he's still a prince. In fact, he's a very handsome one. A good marriage candidate if you ask me."

The blonde watched as Sasori seemed to choke on air. He snarled at the old lady and she simply gave a suggestive grin. He didn't know this lady, but Deidara decided he liked her. He didn't like being suggested as a marriage candidate, but she seemed like the only person who could freely push Sasori around. He found it amusing to have Sasori so annoyed, but appeared like he was unable to do anything.

"Now look at you, you're so weak. Sasori, you give him the rest of the day off and let him sleep." She demanded.

"Why wou-"

"Sasori, now!"

Sasori grumbled in annoyance at the old lady's demanding tone as he rose to his feet. Deidara felt himself being lifted from the ground once more, and his head rested against the king's chest. He heard an 'aww' from the elderly lady, and it didn't stop with Sasori's harsh glare. The bog king growled before storming from the room, his grip tightening on Deidara. Sasori moved quickly and Deidara found himself carried through a maze of hallways.

A door opened and Deidara was carried into a tiny room before being dropped on the cold floor. He shivered slightly at the coolness, and his eyes weakly lifted towards Sasori. The king was silent, glaring down at him. A chuckle was heard by the door and the old lady walked in, raising an eyebrow. The redhead sighed in annoyance, and Deidara simply watched from his position on the floor.

"Now, 'Sori, he can't sleep on the floor."

"Why the fuck not!?"

"He just can't. Now you go find him some blankets. Shoo."

Sasori stomped from the room in a way that reminded Deidara of an annoyed teenager, and he used the little strength he had left to let out a weak laugh. The elderly lady smiled at him as she moved closer, assisting the prince to sit up. She was gentle, and Deidara found himself liking this lady even more.

"I'm Chiyo," She introduced, "Sasori is my grandson."

"D-Deidara... un."

"Save your energy."

The king returned through the door and pushed past Chiyo, throwing the blankets at the blonde. Deidara found himself blinded by them until they were pulled off his head a moment later by Chiyo. Sasori crossed his arms impatiently and Chiyo set the blankets up like a bed. Deidara watched in awe, wondering how a woman like that was related to Sasori. She was so kind... and he was so heartless.

The elderly lady held her hand out and the prince stared at her silently. She glared at Sasori, and the king grumbled before coming over the assist. Deidara was lifted into Sasori's arms before being dropped harshly onto the blankets moments later. With that, the king stormed from the room leaving Deidara with his elderly and kind grandmother. She continued to small as she covered him with the blankets tucking him into bed.

"Looks like 'Sori's really overworked you..." She sighed.

"'S-Sori, un?"

"My darling grandson doesn't like it very much, but I think it's adorable."

"It... makes him sound less... scary, un"

"Oh, you don't let that nasty glare scare you. 'Sori's just a grumpy little shortie."

Deidara was rather surprised at the woman's words, but when he actually thought about it the blonde realized he was indeed taller than Sasori. He supposed he'd just been too caught up in the situation to notice. Chiyo seemed so carefree, and as much as Deidara wanted to follow her advice... it wasn't as simple as she made it sound. The prince didn't think Sasori was aloud to hurt Chiyo... but the king could definitely hurt him.

"Don't look so nervous all of a sudden. You just need to stick up for yourself a bit."

"And give him a reason to kill me? I'd rather not, un."

"Oh, relax. He can't kill you, you're his bait. Besides, Sasori knows better than that. If he kills you, it'll start an entire war."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, un..."

Chiyo sighed slightly before shrugging, as Deidara cuddled into the warm blankets. They smelled bad and were relatively dirty, but they were better than nothing. They provided him with some warmth, and somewhere more comfortable than the rock floor. He felt grateful to Chiyo for her help, and she provided Deidara with some entertainment. Sasori was pretty hot when he wa—. Deidara cut off the thought, not allowing his mind to go there.

He cursed his preference for the male gender, and himself for finding his captor attractive. The blonde knew that allowing himself to feel for the king would only end in countless heartbreak. He was ruthless, and obviously had no interest in relationships. Not to mention, Sasori was completely and utterly straight. Overall, even if there would good points, which there weren't, ending up with Sasori would likely destroy him.

"He's attractive, isn't he?"

"Un?"

"I can see it all over your face."

"...Un...?"  
"I may be old, but I ain't clueless. What kind of straight guy has hair that long—"

"That's a bit offensive, un..."

"I don't care, blondie. You're gay, aren't you?"

"No, un."

"Tell the truth."

"I did, un!"  
"Did not."

"Did too, un."

"Did not."

"Did too, un."

"Did not!"

"Did too, un!"

Chiyo was just about to retort when the door slammed opened to reveal a rather pissed-looking Sasori in the doorway. He glared at Deidara and his grandmother, and Chiyo erupted into laughter. Sasori's anger only grew and Deidara couldn't help but chuckle. Even with a glare from Sasori, he kept laughing. He was still exhausted, but his energy seemed to be returning as he once again experienced fun and laughter.

"Shut up, brat. And stop encouraging my prisoner, you old hag!" Sasori snarled.

"Is that anyway to talk to your grandmother, bastard un!?"

Sasori's head snapped in Deidara's direction, but the blonde didn't back down. He decided he would stick up to the redhead, and he didn't care how scary the king was. If Sasori wanted to play captor, then Deidara would be the most difficult damn prisoner to ever exist. Sasori's expression didn't change as he continued to stare coldly at the prince, but Deidara knew he'd be rather confused. After all, normally Deidara would shy away from his stare.

"What did you just call me, brat!?"

"Bastard," Deidara replied, "a ugly, motherfucking bastard, un."

Chiyo chuckled slightly, surprising Deidara, at his words. Deidara grinned slightly at her reaction, loving the shocked look on Sasori's face. The bog king didn't even know how to react. He just seemed to be frozen as Chiyo and Deidara continued to laugh. But after he had a minute to process what had been said to him, Sasori's rage skyrocketed quicker than ever before.

"Say it again, I dare you." The redhead threatened.

"Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bast— Un!"

Deidara found his back against the wall and a hand around his neck in less than a couple seconds. The grip around his neck quickly grew tighter, and the prince felt his airway being cut off. His vision began to turn slightly hazy again as he stared into the king's violent, brown eyes. He was filled with complete and utter rage, and Deidara felt his head growing lighter.

His senses continued to dull and soon enough the blonde found himself completely out of it. A loud ringing was echoing through his ears, and he could no longer breath. His vision consisted of beige, almost like clouds had formed on his pupils. The exhaustion in his body returned suddenly, and he felt himself slumping. He was so weak, tired, sick, hungry, thirsty. But most of all, he was afraid.

And his fear was the last thing he knew before he fell into unconsciousness.


	7. Six

**Sasori**

 

Sasori groaned in annoyance from where he sat, wishing his grandmother could just pass of old age and put him out of his misery. She had been lecturing him like a child ever since he'd lost his temper and strangled the blonde. The redheaded king was getting rather sick of it, and for once he actually wished he could hear that annoyingly 'un'-infested voice.

Unfortunately, the annoying prince was still out cold. Chiyo was fussing over him while Sasori waited by the door. Currently, Sasori's grandmother was fixing the blankets to cover the blonde's feet. Apparently he was too cold. It was always one thing or another; every time she fixed something the old hag found something new to fix in order to make the prince more comfortable.

The brat was much too weak. He was all bark and no bite, as some may say. The kid didn't seem to think twice about his words, and would casually use curse words in his speech — even in the presence of other royalty. He was much to feminine, yet at the same time he was the complete opposite. He looked like a girl, no doubt. In fact, Sasori would have thought him to be a girl if he hadn't known the prince was feminine.

His egotistical attitude often angered the king, due to the irrational things coming from the blonde's lips. He'd never been stuck with someone so incredibly annoying, loud and obnoxious before. If someone had even dared to do so, they would no longer be alive. He supposed that's why it never happened. His people knew better than to annoy him and get on his bad side. That discipline was something the Fairy Kingdom lacked.

"Hey, 'Sori? Can you wait here with him while I get him some water?"

"Ask a guard to do it."

"Nope. This is your punishment for attacking him in the first place."

Sasori groaned as Chiyo exited the room, leaving him alone with the unconscious prince. The king was glad to at least get some peace, but someone up there clearly hated him; the blonde began to come to. His bright, cerulean eyes flickered open and he stared silently at the ceiling for a moment before he turned his head to look at Sasori. The redheaded king found himself in a trance at the sight of those beautiful, blue eyes. No. He couldn't be thinking such things. Deidara was his prisoner, and a male.

"You're awake, brat."

"No shit, un." Deidara replied weakly.

Sasori frowned, but chose not to start a fight. If he attacked the blonde again, his grandmother would never let him hear the end of it. Besides, if he remained silent then maybe the prince would shut up too. Deidara seemed to read his mind and said nothing for a while, allowing Sasori to worship the beautiful silence that was floating throughout the air. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.

"I'm back, 'Sori. Oh, you're up! Good to see you're feeling better."

Sasori snickered at the blonde's discomfort whilst he was pushed around by the elderly lady. Deidara was finally understanding how the redhead felt to have the old hag nagging him and following him around all the time. Perhaps she was his blood relative, but they had never been close when Sasori was little. The redhead was distant from most of his family, except his mother. Even so, he preferred not to talk about his past.

"Are you finished with this foolishness?" Sasori demanded of is grandmother.

"Well if you're going to act like that, then you can take care of him."

"I'm not taking care of the brat."

"I'm sitting right here, un!"

"Do I look like I fucking care?"

Sasori watched as the blonde 'hmph'ed and looked away, almost as if he were pouting. The redhead wanted to kick himself when the word 'cute' crossed his mind. The prisoner was not cute and Deidara was a male. A guy. A boy. Perhaps he looked like he was a female, but he clearly wasn't. The king did not date, and being in a relationship with another male was wrong.

"Sasori Akasuna, you are taking care of him. If you refuse, then you're grounded for a week."

"What the fuck? You can't ground me, I'm king!"

"Actually, she can. Sorry, your highness."

Sasori whipped his head around to glare at Kakuzu who was entering the room. He couldn't even process what was happening. How the actual fuck could Chiyo ground him? He was the king of the dark forest and she was just an old hag. Sure, she'd been Queen, but it was a long time ago. There was absolutely way that she could ground him, not in his position.

"She can't, it's not possible!"

"A former ruler can step in if they believe the current ruler needs to take a break. Whether you're doing wrong or not, she has the power to do so."

"You will be taking care of him, Sasori. Or you can be temporarily stripped of your title. Imagine the rumours..."

Sasori cringed at his grandmother's words, anger growing within him. She couldn't be serious. This couldn't be happening to him. But she was serious, and Sasori was just starting to process that fact. He tried to sort through the options within his mind, but there were no ways out. The ruthless king had no choice but to do exactly what his grandmother instructed him. To take care of that stupid brat.

"Fine, but I have stuff to do so he better keep up. Let's go, brat. On your feet."

"He's not ready yet, 'Sori."

"I can't take care of him if he doesn't go with me, so do it yourself."

"Fine, fine. Come on, sweetie. Up you get."

"S-sweetie, un?"

Chiyo ushered the prince to his feet, using the blonde's mortified state from the nickname to her advantage. Sasori couldn't help but chuckle, liking the expression that was plastered across the brat's face. Pure and utter horror. Sasori smirked at the sight of him, liking this face. The king considered trying to scare the heir like that more often. With such a face to fuel Sasori's ego, it was worth it.

"Hurry up, brat."

"Yes..."

"Yes, what?"

"Y-yes, Danna, un."

Sasori nodded in satisfaction towards the frail boy before turning and exiting the little room. Deidara trailed after him, down through the halls and up a large stair case. The redhead entered his workshop, immediately going over to his desk and sitting down. Several puppet parts sat in front of him, and he pulled out his tool box so he could begin working on putting it together.

"You... like art, un?"

"What do you think, brat?"

"S-sorry, un."

"Do you want to know what I like even more than my art?"

"What, un?" He asked, sounding excited.

"Doing my art in silence."

"Oh..."

"Just... do something quiet to entertain yourself."

"Yes, Danna, un..."

The redhead sighed slightly, enjoying the quiet as he began to work away. He got a wood screw out before carefully positioning it in the right position. After getting it in the wood and tightened, he moved onto the next screw. Doing all of them probably took him about 15 minutes, due to the large amount of them, but at least now he had finished the torso. He shifted his wings slightly as he leaned closer to the puppet, to get a closer look.

His body jumped at a loud noise from behind him, causing his tool box to fall to the ground. Sasori snarled in anger, slamming a fist against his work desk. He slowly rose to his feet and turned to face the blonde, whom was trembling on the floor beneath a collapsed shelf. The shelf was broken, as well as many of the materials that had been on it. Sasori found himself fuming at the sight.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch anything, you brat!?"

"N-no, un."

"Well, look what you've done!"

"I'm sorry, Danna. I... I just wanted the clay, un."

"The... clay?"

"Yes," he nodded, "the clay, un."

"What the fuck do you want the clay for?"

"I wanted to make my art, un."

"You're actually an artist?"

"Uh huh! My pieces are versatile. While they hold shape they are merely objects...but they can also explode. And when it does explode it makes it's existence more sublime, and it finally comes fully into it's own. I feel that true art lives, un, only in that flash of sublimation. True art, is an explosion, un!"

Sasori cringed at the words, burying his face in his hand. How could believe that shit to be art? The kid had it all wrong. Clearly, the Fairy Kingdom did not teach art properly. What was the point in something if it were simply to disappear again? Deidara clearly needed some sort of mental help, if he was spouting such nonsense. But then again, Sasori was pretty sure the brat needed mental help anyway.

"You're wrong, brat. True art is something that lasts forever. True art is eternal."

Deidara looked shocked and was about to fire back, but instead a yelp of pain escaped his lips when he attempted to move. He looked towards his wrist in pain, which was unfortunately stuck underneath the shelf. Sasori sighed before moving closer, forgetting the argument to help the brat. After removing the shelf, Sasori saw the piece of glass in the blonde's wrist. He sighed at his clumsiness. It was injury after injury with this kid.

"Go sit at my desk, brat."

Sasori got his first aid kit from the cupboard as Deidara went to sit where he was told. His eyes remained glued to his lap, almost as if he were ashamed to look up. Sasori chuckled slightly, surprising both the blonde and himself, as he dug through the first aid kit. Getting out a pair of tweezers, he very carefully put them around the piece of glass. Deidara whimpered as it was pulled out, but bit his lip to prevent any more sounds.

The redhead was gentle, which was very unlike him, as he wrapped Deidara's wrist. After all, he didn't want his grandmother to temporarily strip him of his title like she'd threatened. As well, he knew the blonde would make a fit if it hurt and the king was desperately craving some quiet. As much as he liked to cause others pain, this was the best approach for the situation.

"Th-thank you, Danna, un..."

"Whatever, brat. Just don't get used to it."

"Okay, un."

Sasori stared at the prince for a second as he moved his wrist slightly, face scrunching up from the pain. The king knew he couldn't be staring and he knew that he had to look away. But a part of him at the same time didn't want to do what he was supposed to. Still, he was king and he would do as his father instructed him. He would be proper, and he would rule with fear. Yet he couldn't figure out, why was he somewhat attracted to the blonde? Sasori decided it had to be his feminine appearance, as blonde hair and blue eyes was not at all common in the dark forest.

"Danna, un?"

"What?" Sasori grumbled.

"C-can I... un..."

"I don't have all day, brat."

"Un..."

"Clay? Is that what you want?"

The blonde's eyes widened before he began nodding rapidly. Sasori simply rolled his eyes as he put the first aid kit away, before getting some clay from a drawer on the side of the room. Deidara's entire face lit up as it was placed in his hands and he immediately began to take it out of the package excitedly. The king couldn't help but watch in amusement as he began to sculpt with it, starting to create a figure.

"Otousan never lets me create my art anymore, un."

"He won't let you blow things up? I wonder why, brat." Sasori rolled his eyes.

"No, not that; I know I can't blow things up in the castle. He won't even let me sculpt anymore, un."

"Why not?" Sasori asked, feeling generally confused.

"All he cares about is the next heir. I have to be the perfect king, with the perfect wife and the perfect child. I don't want to get married, why can't he see that? Over and over, I tell him I'm not getting fucking married. But the bastard won't listen to me, un! He-"

"-Okay, okay. Calm down, brat."

"Sorry, Danna..."

"I'm sure your father is-..."

Sasori stopped talking the moment the door opened, and Chiyo entered with a grin on her face. Deidara looked over towards her curiously, and Sasori groaned in annoyance. His grandmother looked at the clay in Deidara's hand and raised an eyebrow, a smirk crossing her lips. Sasori immediately stepped forward and ripped it from the blonde's hands, destroying what he had been creating.

"I told you not to fucking touch that, you brat."

A hurt look flashed in Deidara's eyes when his sculpture was taken and destroyed, but he quickly hid it again before Sasori could be sure that he had seen it correctly. What Sasori did see, was confusion. The kind did not need to explain himself to his prisoner, especially not in front of Chiyo. The elder woman knew that Sasori never let anyone touch his art supplies. No matter who they were and how loyal they were. Even as a child, he didn't let anyone near his art room.

"Now, 'Sori, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm."

"I told him not to touch my stuff, and he did the exact opposite." Sasori snarled.

"B-but Danna, y-Ouch!"

Deidara's hand went to his cheek at the burning sensation where Sasori's hand had hid it. The redhead growled in anger as tears poked at the prince's eyes. Why was that prince so damn annoying? He talked big, but cried like he was a toddler. He was probably pampered endlessly as a child, and now couldn't take care of himself. He'd never known what it was like to lose a loved one, or to suffer.

And Sasori despised him for it.

Deidara's entire life had been handed to him on a silver platter. His parents sheltered him from every possible evil and kept him innocent. Sasori was exposed to the true nature of the world at a very young age. His mother had been brutally killed by his father one night, when she refused to provide him with her body. Sasori had to grow up saying nothing, pretending she had been attacked by a kingdom traitor. If he dared speak up, he would have suffered the same fate.

The boy always promised himself that he would change the kingdom and that he would become a better ruler than his father. Yet as he grew up, he found himself changing. Sasori was trained and taught by his father, and slowly he began to become more and more like him. Before he even realized, he had become an exact replica of his father. A ruthless man who would do absolutely anything to gain power. He became feared, even more so than his father.

No way was a pampered brat going to change that.


	8. Seven

**Deidara**

 

Deidara sat silently in the corner of the redhead's bedroom, feeling awfully confused. The blonde was feigning to be occupied, although in truth he was bored out of his mind. Sasori was sitting on his bed reading something, and the prince was looking over curiously. Deidara wasn't huge on reading, but anything was better than sitting silently in a corner. He felt like a toddler who was on a time out.

  
"Danna?" He spoke softly.

  
"What do you want, brat?" Sasori grumbled in response.

  
"Can I...? Un..."

  
"Look, brat, I can't read minds."

  
Deidara took in a deep breath, nervous to upset the redhead. Also, he just didn't want to say the words that were about to come from his mouth. Deidara swallowed his pride before he caught Sasori's eyes.

  
"Can I read... with you, un?"

  
"You want to read with me?"

  
"Un." Deidara nodded.

  
"Let me think... No."

  
Deidara whined like a child, growing rather frustrated. The king was always such a prick, and all Deidara wanted was something to do. It had been several days since the first time Deidara was in the art room. Sasori spent hours in there each day, but now he never let the prince play with the clay. And it wasn't like Sasori was using it either!

  
"Danna, please? I'm bored, un!"

 

"Do I look like I care?"

  
"Danna," Deidara whined, "I'll be quiet. You won't even know I'm there."

  
"Fine, just shut up."

  
Deidara nodded quickly as he rose to his feet, bounding over towards the king-sized bed. He crawled up and sat beside Sasori, who grumbled in annoyance. Deidara didn't even care as he peered over Sasori's shoulder, beginning to read the page. This was much better than sitting silently in a corner, although he'd rather be doing his art.  
He didn't understand why his Danna got so mad all of a sudden though. One minute Deidara was playing with the clay, and the next Sasori had ripped it away and destroyed it. He didn't understand why it had happened, in fact he didn't understand the king at all. He was better when it was just Sasori and him, but as soon as anyone else entered the picture... maybe that was it.

  
It was something about other people. So as long as Deidara gave Sasori space when other people were around, the prince would likely have a lot less problems. It would prevent Sasori from getting all moody and Deidara wouldn't have to put up with the consequences. His regular personality was already bad enough, and the fairy didn't want to spend one more second than he had to with a moody Sasori.

  
Sasori flipped the page, and Deidara's blue eyes flicked up to the top of the page. Laughter emitted from his lips at what he was reading and the redhead growled lowly from beside him. The prince glanced at the king and, within seconds, Deidara burst into laughter. The redhead snarled in anger as he slammed the book closed, glaring at Deidara angrily.

  
"What's so funny, brat?" he hissed.

  
"You should see your face, Danna! You look like someone took your cookie, un."

  
Sasori clenched his teeth, but Deidara only laughed more. His Danna wasn't as scary as the prince had originally thought. He was moody, yes, and he was rude, yes, but he wasn't as scary. But the blonde couldn't help but laugh at what Sasori was reading. The author was a member of the fairy kingdom, and a perverted old man.

  
"Stop laughing!" Sasori snarled.

  
"I can't help it. You actually like this shit, un?"

  
Sasori growled and rose his hand in the air before whacking the blonde in the head with the book. Deidara yelped as he was knocked off the bed, landing on the ground. The bedroom door opened just as Sasori chuckled the orange book across the room, and Kakuzu quickly ducked to avoid being hit. Instead it hit poor Kisame, who was standing directly beside the apparently agile elder.

  
"I'm sorry for disturbing you, your highness. We'll be going." Kakuzu bowed.

  
The two went to back out of the room, but Sasori lifted a hand to stop them. With that, the two quickly entered the room and Deidara found himself being ordered back to the corner. He groaned in annoyance as he rose to his feet before going back to the corner and sitting down on the cold floor. Kakuzu opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as Chiyo rushed into the room, grabbing Kisame's arm and pulling him forward.

  
"Sasori, did you know that Kisame likes to swim?" Chiyo smirked.

  
Deidara couldn't help but burst into laughter when he saw Sasori's horrified face, and soon all eyes in the room were on him. It was then that the redhead snapped, and poor Deidara would not be given a reprieval this time. The collar of his shirt was grabbed before he found his back slammed against the wall, Sasori's harsh, brown eyes glaring into Deidara's blue ones.

  
"What's so funny, brat?" the redhead seethed.

  
"N-nothing, Danna, un..." Deidara replied.

  
"Tell the truth," he demanded, "I'm waiting"

  
"Y-your face. You looked horrified, un."

  
"Why is that funny? Why wouldn't I be horrified, brat?"

  
"I-I don't know, un."

  
"She suggested I be with another guy, brat. A guy."

  
"What's wrong with that, un?"

  
"What's wrong with it? Are you clueless? I'm a male. Kisame is a male. I'm not some fucking gay pimp."

  
"Gay pimp? Are you serious, un? There's nothing wrong with being a guy who likes other guys!" Deidara snapped in response.

  
"God, your kingdom is wrong. What the hell do they think they're doing?" Sasori grumbled.

  
"Now Sasori, that's enough," Chiyo ordered, "the fairy kingdom has changed through time. Perhaps it's time for us to do the same."

  
"Are you fucking kidding? Never will I ever allow those gay bastards in my kingdom. Now everyone, get out. Take the brat too."

  
Deidara's hand went to his heart, clutching his shirt. The prince couldn't understand, why was his chest hurting? Sasori was completely against gay people; he thought it was wrong for guys to like other guys. But Deidara still didn't completely understand. Why was it hurting? Why did Sasori's opinion on being gay effect him so much? Maybe it was because Deidara was gay? That was probably it.

  
Deidara was dragged to his feet suddenly by Kakuzu, and found himself being pulled from the room. Sasori had gone to his bookshelf to grab something else to read, and that's all Deidara saw before the door was slammed shut. He instantly felt tiny in the presence of the faeries, finding himself surrounded. Kakuzu still held onto his wrist, Kisame stood at his side and Chiyo was in front of him.

  
"I'm sorry," Chiyo apolized, "he's very close minded about these things."

  
"What makes you think I care, un?"

  
"Deidara, you don't need to hide your sexuality from us."

  
"I already told you. I'm not gay, un!"

  
"I'm gay."

  
Deidara's head snapped in Kisame's direction, finding himself at a loss for words. The blonde prince just couldn't believe it. Kisame, who was Sasori's head guard. Sasori, who despised gays and had literally stated less than a minute ago that they weren't welcome in his kingdom. How the hell could Kisame be gay? It just didn't make sense.

  
"I am too."

  
Kakuzu as well? Now Deidara was getting a bit skeptical. Two of Sasori's highest ups were both gay. How did the blonde know if they were trying to trick him? What if it was an elaborate setup because they wanted something to blackmail him with? Deidara wasn't going to take any chances, not a single one. If Sasori found out, then he could only imagine what the ruthless king may do to him.

  
"There are quite a few non-straight people in our kingdom. It's accepted by at least half of our people," Kakuzu announced.

  
"The other half remain strongly against it either because they think it's wrong or they fear Sasori's anger. If he were to find out, all the people and the supporters with be tortured and then executed," Kisame joined in.

  
"How does he not know up you guys, un?"

  
"We've gotten good at hiding it," Kisame replied.

  
"Besides, we have no lovers," Kakuzu pointed out.

  
Chiyo keeled down to the blonde prince and he was assisted to his feet, although he found himself struggling to stand up on his own. He was tired, and a bit overworked. Overall, he was just really in the mood for a long nap. Although Deidara didn't think that a nap was something he'd get. Although he couldn't help but feel safer knowing Kisame and Kakuzu's secret. He'd still keep his guard up, they could easily be lying, but for now Deidara would believe them.

  
"Sasori just needs to meet someone, and see how wonderful love really is." Chiyo stated.

  
"There's literally a line of work for woman who choose to carry children. That's their job, and then they teach the father raise the kid for three months before the father gets full custody. Well, unless the father chooses to give the mother." Kisame explained.

  
"Even I wouldn't do that, and the pay is really good." Kakuzu grumbled.

  
Deidara just couldn't process it. They paid people to have children? That was completely and utterly sick. They were human, and a special kind of life. Maybe they were difficult to take care of, but they were definitely worth it. When he was younger, he always used to love helping out with his siblongs. Ino was always obsessed with his hair, and when she grew older she copied the style that he had when he was young.

  
Naruto was one of those kids that wanted to be just like his older sibling. Naruto idolized Deidara through his toddler years, copying his every move. At first it was cute, but it got to a point where Deidara just wanted to slap the kid. He felt bad for thinking that way, but he couldn't help it. It was just his stupid mind, and there wasn't much else that he could do about it.

  
"Hey, you listening?"

  
"Un?"

  
Kakuzu rolled his eyes at the reaction, a loud sigh coming from his lips. Deidara found himself blushing from embarrassment, and at that moment he absolutely hated his red cheeks. He could see Kakuzu and Kisame both snickering, although luckily for Deidara, definitely not for Kisame and Kakuzu, Chiyo shut then both up with a harsh smack on the head.

  
"Alright, kid. As I was saying before, we have some stupid royal ball tomorrow." The oldest male grumbled.

  
"You guys... have royal balls, un?"

  
"Normally no, but there's another kingdom on the other side of us. You don't see much of them since the Dark Forest is in between you two. Anyway, Sasori and them are pulling a truce. There have been too many people lost at useless border skirmishes. They're signing a treaty tomorrow," he continued.

  
"What does this have to do with me, un?"

  
"Simple," Kisame butted in, "you'll have to attend it."

  
"Why do I have to go, un!?"

  
"You look rapeable. If we put you in the dungeon, I guarentee that is exactly what will happen." Kakuzu bluntly stated.

  
"U-un?"

  
"We're going to dress you up as a girl, Dei. If the Sand Kingdom recognizes you, then chances are they'll kill you." Chiyo told him.

  
"No. I'm not dressing up as a girl. You can't make me, un!"

"You're not the only one miserable out this!" Kakuzu snapped.

"You don't have to dress up as a girl, un!"

"No, but I have to be your date." Kisame grumbled.

"No! I'm not going, un!"

Deidara thrashed in protest as he was grabbed and thrown over Kakuzu's shoulder. At this point, he had very little remaining dignity and he was not going to let these faerie bastards take it away! No way in fucking hell was Deidara dressing as some stupid girl. Why couldn't he just go as a guy? They were probably just making him do it to torment him, but Deidara was not okay with it and it was not going to happen!

Deidara sat with his arms crossed on Kisame's bed, scowling as Chiyo finished fixing his hair. She had taken out his pony tail and put it into two high pony tails on the side of his head. She had curled them into ringlets, and the poor prince was wearing a short, blue dress. Deidara felt humiliated, imagining what would happen if his family were to come for him today. He'd never live it down. The blonde cringed as he thought of Hidan taunting him for the rest of his life.

"Why couldn't we have waited until tomorrow, un?"

"I already told you," Kakuzu sighed, "they'll be arriving here shortly and they can't see you."

"You'll be sticking with me, since you're apparently my date." Kisame instructed.

"I'm not leaving this room, un."

Kisame rolled his eyes before he picked Deidara up bridal style, causing his to snarl in anger. He began to thrash, but Kisame shifted his grip to prevent the prince from doing so. Deidara was fuming as the exited the room, but Kisame quickly shushed him with wide eyes. Deidara scowled but did as he was told, only because he was too tired from fighting during the makeover.

"Greetings, Kisame."

"Kankuro," the shark-like male replied, "how is the sand kingdom?"

"Doing well, now that the truce has been decided on. And the Akasuna kingdom?"

"Quite well, actually. The truce will have a positive effect on both of our kingdoms."

"I'm sorry, Kankuro, but I need to steal Kisame."

Deidara looked back, seeing Chiyo and Kakuzu. The elder moved closer and began to engage in a conversation, whilst Kisame grabbed Deidara's hand and led him away. Chiyo snatched his wrist as soon as he got close before she began to drag him through the hall. She soon burst into Sasori's room where the king sat on his bed reading a book. He looked up, and cringed seeing Deidara.

"I don't care what she likes, get her out." Sasori growled.

"Shut up, un!"

Sasori's head snapped up, and he narrowed his eyes at Deidara. The blonde snarled in anger and Kisame put his hand around Deidara's waist to hold him back. The prince was much smaller than Kisame and definitely didn't have the physical strength to pull away. He hated to admit it, but he was probably one of the physically weakest members of his kingdom. He had a more fragile build, and was used to an easy life. Of course he was getting used to cruel treatment now, but he still doubted that he could take much of a beating.

"What the hell?" Sasori questioned.

"You know the sand kingdom can't recognize Deidara, so we disguised him."

Deidara found himself pushed forward and Sasori burst into laughter, causing the blonde to scowl. The redhead laughed harder each step Deidara took towards him. The prince found his anger growing and growing until he snapped. He clenched his fist quickly stepped forward to go for the punch, but Kisame had grabbed him and pulled him back before he could.

"Heh heh, this is priceless! Did the prince decide he wanted to be a princess?" Sasori taunted, his laughter growing louder.

"So, you won't mind being his date?"

Sasori choked the second the words left Chiyo's mouth, and Deidara began coughing uncontrollably. Kisame whacked each of them in the back before the two began to breathe normally again, yet each were left with deep emotional scars. Deidara was not happy, not one bit. Kisame as his date was bad enough, but Sasori? No way in hell was he pretending to be a girl, and Sasori Akasuna's date!

"I'm not taking that brat as my date. I'm not taking a date at all." Sasori growled.

"I'm not going with him. I'd rather go with that creepy pedophile who flirted with me when we switched rooms halfway through, un!"

"Creepy... pedophile?" Kakuzu questioned as he entered the room.

"Orochimaru," Chiyo replied.

Deidara could see Sasori growl at the pure mention of his name, before he suddenly snapped his head to Deidara. The blonde prince froze in place at the gaze, trying not to tremble. He now realized that this 'Orochimaru' was not someone Sasori liked, and Deidara had very likely hurt Sasori's pride. That was not something you did to someone with a temper like Sasori's, or royalty.

"So you'd rather go with a creepy pedophile, huh, brat?"

"U-un..."

"Oh, fine. You want creepy pedophile? I'll show you creepy pedophile. Now come to your Danna, girlie."


	9. Eight

Sasori flipped the page of his book, growing very intrigued. The story was well put-together, and the king had to admit he was quite enjoying it. It was a rather strange concept set in another world. In fact in this world, there were so such things as faeries or faeries. They were these weird creatures called 'humans'. And they all had weird powers and called themselves ninjas. It was strange, but interesting.

Unfortunately, his reading was interrupted as the door slammed open and his grandmother burst in. Looking from the corner of his eye, he saw a girl following her. He snapped his head up to actually look at the girl, scowling even more the longer he looked at her. She had golden blonde hair curled and in pony tails. Then a shortish dress that matched her hair. Sasori couldn't help but cringe, he was sick of all these stupid girls. She looked shy, and Sasori was grateful for that. At least if she was shy, she wouldn't talk.

"I don't care what she likes, get her out." Sasori growled.

"Shut up, un!"

Sasori's snapped his head up, looking at the blonde girl. The voice... was just like... No. It couldn't be. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, and Kisasme immediately moved forward to hold her back as she snarled a very masculine-sounding snarl. There was absolutely no way that that could be his prisoner. The obnoxiously loud prince he'd taken as a hostage to trade for the love potion that was stolen. She couldn't be! But that voice, Sasori had only ever heard a voice like that once. And 'she' had even used that annoying speech impediment.

"What the hell?" Sasori questioned.

"You know the sand kingdom can't recognize Deidara, so we disguised him."

Sasori watched as Deidara was pushed towards him before he burst into a roaring laughter. Perhaps it was slightly out of character for him, but in a situation like this? Hell, the king couldn't help himself! The heir to the fairy kingdom stood in front of him in a dress and his hair curled in ringlets. He saw the blonde clench his fist and take a step forward, but Sasori didn't even need to do anything. Kisame got to it first.

"Heh heh, this is priceless! Did the prince decide he wanted to be a princess?" He taunted, his laughter growing more out of control.

"So, you won't mind being his date?"

Sasori choked the second the words left Chiyo's mouth, and he heard Deidara begin coughing uncontrollably. Sasori felt Kisame whack him on the back and his breathing began to return to normal. But he still couldn't exactly process what Chiyo had just said. She expected him to take that brat, the heir to the kingdom of his enemy to a royal ball. Sasori didn't want to take anyone, let alone that little shit. And not to mention, no way in hell was he taking a guy. Even if he happened to be disguised as a girl.

"I'm not taking that brat as my date. I'm not taking a date at all." Sasori growled.

"I'm not going with him. I'd rather go with that creepy pedophile who flirted with me when we switched rooms halfway through, un!"

"Creepy... pedophile?" Kakuzu questioned, entering the room.

"Orochimaru," Chiyo replied.

A growl rumbled deep in Sasori's throat at the name, his head snapping to Deidara. The blonde froze suddenly as he stared at Sasori with wide eyes. The king could even see the prince trembling slightly. Orochimaru, now Sasori happened to despise him. After the innocent with his grandmother, Sasori couldn't even hear his name without wanting to smash something. And Deidara, that brat, would rather go to a ball with the 'creepy pedophile' than him? Sasori Akasuna? Hn, he was the king. Everyone should be dying to attend some stupid ball with him.

"So you'd rather go with a creepy pedophile, huh, brat?"

"U-un..."

Sasori smirked deviously as an idea crossed his mind. Now, this would definitely cross the personal boundaries that he had set for himself but to see the blonde miserable... oh fuck it'd be worth it. After all, if Deidara was his 'date', then the prince couldn't do anything to disrespect him. If anything, he'd have to cling to the redhead. The king, obviously, would not allow the prince to do so but it didn't mean he still couldn't taunt him where Deidara couldn't fight back.

"Oh, fine. You want creepy pedophile? I'll show you creepy pedophile. Now come to your Danna, girlie."

Sasori saw the exact way Deidara cringed as a twisted smile formed on the king's face. Kakuzu, Kisame and his grandmother were in complete shock at Sasori's words and in even more as they saw his actions. Sasori approached Deidara and wrapped his arms around the panicked blonde's waist, pulling him closer to him. Deidara needed another couple seconds process, but as soon as the time was up he began violently thrashing in Sasori's grasp.

Sasori only smirked as he let go of Deidara, and instead gently caressed the blonde's cheek. He saw Deidara shiver before pulling away with a glare, and Sasori couldn't help himself but laugh. The prince seemed petrified to a point where he didn't even know how to react, and Sasori decided to try out a new type of punishment. Humiliation of one's pride. He could only imagine what would happen if his kingdom saw him in such a state.

"Alright, brat, if you're going to be a girl... you'll need a girl's name."

"I'm not going to be your fucking date! I'm not going to that stupid ball, un."

"Oh believe me, I don't want you there either. But how I could I resist the chance to see the heir of the fairy kingdom dressed as a girl, fawning over me like a fan girl? How about we call you... Deimara."

"No way in fucking hell, un!"

Sasori grinned sadistically as knocked on the wooden door, awaiting the person inside. Kakuzu was the one to open it, and Chiyo and Kisame were both dragging Deidara towards the door. He was stubborn, the king would give him that, but this was something he could taunt the prince with for the rest of his life. Deidara scowled and Sasori crinkled his nose in disgust as the blonde spat on his shoe.

"Dei, you can't act like that in front of the Sand Kingdom. We've been through this." Chiyo scolded.

"I'm not going, un!"

"You have to. Well, if you want to be taken down to the dungeon and raped... Imagine that. Heh." Kakuzu snickered.

"Oh, fine. Two can play at this game, Dan-na."

Sasori shivered as the blonde was immediately clinging to his arm, looking up at him with seductive eyes. The king gulped slightly, knowing he'd gotten himself into one hell of a mess. Deidara only smirked, but then Sasori realized something. As much as he despised this, he wanted to make the prince squirm. Despite Deidara's support of gay relationships, which Sasori found ridiculous, Deidara had limits. Limits that he wouldn't want Sasori to get anywhere near. He'd had to bend the rules a bit, but it was for the torture of a prisoner so it would be okay... right?

Sasori was sure that this was going to be the most affection he'd shown towards anyone, ever. Even more so than to his mother, whom the king had actually been quite close with before her death. This was an opportunity of a life time, to humiliate a prince. Unfortunately others wouldn't know he was the prince, but Sasori would. So would Kakuzu, Kisame and Chiyo. Sacrifices had to made... to make the brat miserable.

"So, Deimara, shall we go?" Sasori smirked.

"We shall, un."

Sasori grabbed the brat's wrist roughly but was stopped as his grandmother coughed loudly. The king scowled, before releasing it. He couldn't treat the brat like that in front of the sand kingdom or they'd be suspicious for sure. Ugh. Sasori instead began quickly heading towards the ball room, and Deidara struggled to scamper after him. Sasori snickered as 'she' tripped, not able to move quickly in the heels 'she' was wearing.

"Shut up, un."

Sasori looked back at the prince who was hissing as he struggled to get back up. Rolling his eyes, the king moved closer before grabbing the brat and lifting him to his feet. Sasori's wings had been tucked away, but they sprang up the second he bended over to reveal the black and red pattern. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the brat staring at them, and a smirk formed on his face. He moved closer to the prince, brushing his lips against the brat's ear.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Deidara nearly jumped out of his skin as the king nipped at his ear and Sasori tried not to burst into laughter. The prince growled lowly and looked around for others before he lifted his foot for a powerful kick. Sasori's hands immediately moved to his crotch as he fell to his knees, groaning in pain. That fucking brat had kicked him in the crotch. With fucking heels! Oh, he was so going to get it.

After regaining his composure, he rose to his feet and lifted his hand. Deidara only smirked, which angered Sasori even more. But as he swung his arm, Deidara let out a feminine screech and Sasori found his hand caught. He looked up with a glare, seeing a girl standing in front of him. He recognized her immediately as a member of the royal family in the sand kingdom. The king happened to be her younger brother. The throne was supposed to go to her, and Kankuro was next in line, but both knew their brother had wanted to be king so they each stepped down.

"What the hell do you think your doing!?" Temari snapped.

Sasori's eyes shot to Deidara, and the blonde simply cowered behind the sand girl. The fucking brat was doing it on purpose! He was trying to make Sasori look bad in front of the sand people. Was he trying to mess up the treaty? Oh, after these people left the brat was so going to get it. Deidara only smirked from behind Temari, but Sasori could do nothing. He already looked bad enough as it was.

"H-He's always trying to get me to do things. Th-things I don't want to do, un."

Temari brought out her wings, holding them strong behind her as Deidara used them to block Sasori's sight of him. Her wings were a bright yellow, and much smaller than his. Overall, they were the type of wings to easily stand out in a crowd of people. In fact, her wings were almost identical to a Common Grass Yellow butterfly. Although she had a small black section in the upper corners of her wings.

"Sasori, I've heard rumours about you being ruthless and cruel... but this? This is just too far."

The redhead tensed and took a step back, just as Kakuzu and Kisame arrived at the scene. The two were quite confused at the sight, looking back and forth between Sasori and Temari, then the blonde 'girl' who his behind Temari. Sasori looked to the elder for help and Kakuzu seemed to somewhat understand about what was happening. Poor Kisame, unfortunately, had absolutely no fucking clue.

"You see," Kakuzu cleared his throat, "Deimara here has a mental illness.

Deidara's jaw completely dropped as Temari let out a loud gasp. Sasori fought a smirk, the tables had turned. The blonde girl immediately whipped around and wrapped her arms around Deidara, telling him that it was going to be okay. The prince seemed shocked, but he had to go along with it. He had no choice, especially considering the way Temari was reacting. Sasori knew this, and had left him cornered.

"Sasori and Deimara have been seeing each other for about a month, but because of Deimara's illness she often forgets the people around her. Unfortunately, she's had some negative experiences and sometimes that fear comes back when Sasori shows her affection and she thinks he's someone else."

"Oh, that must be hard. I'm so sorry."

Temari assisted Deidara to walk closer to Sasori, and the redhead pulled the blonde into his chest. He smirked to himself as the blonde tensed, and he decided to push it by running his fingers through the prince's hair. Temari was apologizing over and over before they continued on their way to the ballroom. When they entered, it was already full of the faeries from his kingdom and the sand kingdom.

He held Deidara close to him, chuckling softly as the prince let out a low growl. He pushed away from Sasori, standing beside him with his arms crossed. The king folded his wings back down as he watched the prince, who he had to admit looked pretty cute. Sasori froze at the words going through his mind before shaking his head. Deidara was dressed as a girl, and blonde hair and blue eyes were uncommon in the dark forest. That had to be it, he was just attracted to how different it was.

"Sasori, it's been a while."

"Gaara," the older redhead greeted.

"Who's the girl?"

"I'm Deimara, un."

"It's nice to meet you. I am King Gaara, of the sand. How do you know Sasori?"

"Oh, he's my Dan-na, un."

Sasori shivered at the prince's tone, but his anger only grew. Gaara looked rather disgusted, and the bog king fought the urge to punch his 'date'. The brat was making himself looking like a prostitute in order to make Sasori look back, and the king was sick of it. The younger redhead didn't even know how to respond; he simply nodded and walked off. Sasori shot Deidara a harsh glare, but the blonde only gave an innocent look.

"Greetings, may I have everyone's attention?"

Sasori turned his head to where Kakuzu stood by his throne in front of the large crowd. The ballroom slowly went silent and the dark forest elder nodded in thanks before sending a quick glance to Sasori. The redhead sighed before he gripped the brat's hand and swiftly moved to the front, dragging the prince after him. People quickly moved aside to make a path, bowing down in respect. Gaara also arrived at the front at the same time, a girl by his side.

"Thank you to everyone, for attending the first joint ball between the sand kingdom and the dark forest," Gaara spoke.

"It is our great pleasure to officially sign this truce, and create a safer environment for both kingdoms." Sasori continued.

The king was already sick of this celebration, and he'd just got there. He had been curious about what a ball was like when growing up, but by the time he'd reached his teenage years the younger Sasori no longer cared. He felt no need to spend a large amount of money on food and music to amuse a bunch of unnecessary people. This occasion was different, and Sasori had absolutely no choice, but he only hoped it would end soon.

Sasori found the clipboard with the document handed to him, and the king quickly scribbled his name under Gaara's before flipping the page and repeating the action. Kakuzu nodded and pulled both documents out: one was given to Chiyo and the other to a sand kingdom man known as Baki. Cheers erupted from the peasants and Sasori scowled in annoyance before he and Gaara shook hands.

"It is an honour to become your ally, Sasori. Now, let's enjoy the festivities while the night is still young."

"Yes, indeed. I do hope you enjoy your stay at our castle. Do not hesitate request assistance from anyone if needed."

"I thank you for your hospitality. Now, let us begin the celebration."


	10. Nine

The blonde shifted uncomfortably, his wings feeling rather stiff. They were folded down underneath his dress as an extra precaution. His wings were easily recognizable on sight as only he and members of his family were able to obtain them. The bright, blue wings and a dark black border around the edges that matched the pattern of a Blue Mountain swallowtail. He'd been the only of his siblings to inherit the design from their father. His mother had the design as well, yet her wings were red rather than blue. It was a strange occurrence, and only occurred in specific clans. They would get the wing pattern of one butterfly, but the colouring of another.

Both Naruto and Ino, his siblings, had inherited the blue colour from their father. Although instead of having Blue Mountain Swallowtail designs, they each had wings appearing as a Blue Morpho. Although Ino's wings were a slightly light blue than Naruto, now that the prince thought about it. Even so, his siblings' wings weren't of his concern at the moment. He could see various wing patterns throughout the hall as they moved across the dance floor, and no two were the same. Even those that were based off of the same butterfly, their patterns were slightly different.

Deidara couldn't help but to sneak a glance at Sasori who sat in his throne beside the blonde. The prince couldn't help but realize, he'd never seen Sasori's wings. Well, he probably had but he hadn't... processed seeing them. He couldn't help but wonder, but the king usually kept them folded behind him. Deidara often did the same, but more of a different reason. He always got mobbed by stupid girls who wanted to be 'his queen'. Apparently they hadn't noticed, but Deidara didn't want a queen. He wanted a king.

He wanted a redheaded king.

With brown eyes.

And a sexy voi—no, definitely not going there. Deidara moved his hand to his forehead, trying to straighten out his thoughts. His time in this castle was making him insane. He'd lost count of the days, although the prince was sure that it had been at least two weeks. He'd stopped counting after the first seven days, but that had seemed like a while ago. He didn't know anymore, he just wanted to go home where things made sense. Then he could forget about this whole ordeal and everything would go back to normal.

"Excuse me, Sasori? You wouldn't mind if I stole this lovely lady for a dance, would you?"

Deidara lifted his head quickly, eyes falling on the brown-haired male in front of him. His wings were somewhat of a dusty brown, with creamy spots accenting the outsides. A thick cream-coloured line moved towards the upper sides from the middle, and Deidara recognized him as the sand king's brother. The Citrus Swallowtail-winged fairy grinned as he lowered himself into a polite bow.

"Do whatever you want, Kankuro. I couldn't care less."

Deidara flinched slightly at the king's words, and he couldn't quite comprehend why. But then after processing Sasori's words, he froze. The blonde despised dancing at these things, but then again at least it was with a guy rather than the girls his father made him dance with. Still, he did not want to dance the girl's part. Deidara scowled as Kankuro offered 'her' his hand, and 'she' reluctantly placed 'her' hand in his.

Deidara found himself led onto the dance floor and a pair of hands were placed on his waist. The prince twitched slightly, he'd never been held that way before. Kankuro lifted an eyebrow as the prince shakily put his hands on the brown-haired boy's shoulders. Kankuro let out a rather loud laugh and Deidara felt like he was shrinking; the situation was growing more and more uncomfortable for him and he wanted out.

"Don't tell me you've never danced before," Kankuro chuckled.

"Actually," Deidara spoke in a higher-pitched voice, "I haven't, un."

"Don't be nervous," Kankuro reassured, "just follow me."

"O-okay, un."

Obviously, it was a lie. Deidara had danced many times before. But, he hadn't danced in the girl's position. He was the heir to a throne, and therefore learning the guy's part was all he needed. He'd never dance with anyone but girls, because that's exactly who he was being forced to marry. Clearly, his family hadn't realized that he would need to know when he got older.

Kankuro stepped back in time with the music and Deidara quickly stumbled forward to keep up. The brown-haired male simply chuckled and the prince looked away in embarrassment. How the hell was he supposed to know how to dance the girl part? He was a fucking man. But of course, everyone just has to taunt and torture him because they think his hair is somewhat feminine. He liked his hair long, and that was just his opinion. Maybe it wasn't the 'manliest', as others would say, but he liked it.

"Just relax, and let me lead you."

Deidara took a deep breath before he felt Kankuro moving. The blonde quickly moved his foot forward in time with Kankuro's step back. Then the movement came again, and Deidara quickly stepped right. Kankuro nodded in encouragement before speeding up slightly, and Deidara followed his movements. He found himself getting better at this, in fact, it was actually a lot of fun. Well, despite his dignity which was being stomped on with every step.

He was dancing the girl's part.

But when Deidara considered that fact, he didn't seem to find himself as annoyed as he had been before the dance began. The girl's part was easier, and Deidara found it was a nice break from leading. After all, if was difficult to lead when you had no motivation to do so. Every dance was always the same, because Deidara did the same steps in the same order every time. But this time he was following, and it was different than the way he'd always done it. Although, Deidara could easily tell that this guy was an amateur.

"So, how did the king and you meet?"  
"Why do you ask, un?"

"Well, King Sasori isn't really one for dating. All that matters is that he gets an heir."

"He doesn't believe in love; it makes me wonder why, un."

"Who knows. Don't let yourself fall for him, okay? He'll only hurt you in the end, he doesn't care about other people's feelings."

"Believe me, I know, un."

"So, how did you meet?"

"Oh, um, we ran into each other when I was on my way to the grocery store. Literally, un."

"And he didn't kill you!?"

"Well, he looked like he was going to but then when he actually looked at me he just stopped. Other people think it's because my appearance is uncommon in the dark forest, un."

"I get what you mean. You seem pretty... fragile, to have grown up here. No offense. Also, you don't really get many blonde-haired people with blue eyes outside the Fairy Kingdom. After all, the Namikaze family is known for it."

"I'm not that fragile! But parents always tried to protect me from everything, un. They didn't want me to see the bad parts of the word."

"They must not have been too thrilled when the Bog King chose you then."

"My father was furious and my mother was in a panic. He just showed up and took me away, un."

"I'm sorry that happened to you. Does he treat you nicely?"

Deidara frowned slightly at the question. He didn't like spitting out lies and more lies. He'd been raised to be an honest person, although there was the exception about his sexuality secret. Although when he thought about it, he wasn't completely lying. Sure, he hadn't ran into Sasori like he told Kankuro but he did show up and take him away and his family surely wasn't happy about it. He wasn't fibbing, he was simply... stretching the truth.

"Sometimes, un. I don't understand him. At first he was pretty bad, but I guess as he got used to me he became a bit nicer. But sometimes when he's being nice, someone else shows up and he flips out and starts yelling at me. He tells me not to do things that he just gave me permission to do. He doesn't even call me by my name, just 'brat'. I just wish I could go home, un."

"I'm sure it'll get better," Kankuro stated just as the song ended, "sorry about suddenly ditching you but I have to go speak with my brother. Thank you for the dance."

"Thank you, un."

Deidara moved his hands away from Kankuro and he gave a small curtsey before turning away from the Citrus Swallowtail faerie. The blonde weaved silently through the crowd of people before he arrived at the throne once more. Sasori looked up to him with a devious smirk and the blonde looked away as his heart seemed to suddenly speed up. He took a deep breath before a sigh escaped his lips. Why did he let Sasori make him feel like this? He didn't understand.

"Sasori," an elderly voice called out, "why are you being do rude?"

Deidara lifted his head at the sound of Sasori's familiar groan. The king was attempting to push Chiyo away as she messed with his hair. The blonde couldn't help but snicker at the sight as the redhead thrashed around, growling angrily. His grandmother simply laughed it off as she continued to fix his hair and straightened his clothes like she may do for a tiny little toddler.

It was then that Deidara found someone approaching him from behind, and a chuckle reached his ears. Looking back, his eyes fell on the three siblings from the sand, Kankuro being the owner of the laughter. Gaara was completely silent as he had been before, and Temari seemed to be staring at him with a sympathetic look because of his so-called 'disease'. Deidara despised her sympathetic look, more than he thought he would.

"I see Lady Chiyo hasn't changed," Gaara broke the silence, "she's as old and crazy as the last time."

"She's lucky that Sasori can't kill her, or he would have done it a long time ago." Kankuro agreed.

"He apparently still considers it, un." The blonde giggled with a slightly feminine tone.

"Deimara, was it?" Gaara spoke.

"Yep, un."

"Kankuro told me about your situation. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a couple questions about your relationship with Sasori."

"U-un?"

Gaara cleared his throat and nodded towards his siblings before they began clearing a path. Gaara took Deidara's hand and the blonde found himself being pulled after the younger king. He stopped once the group was out of hearing distance and all three of the siblings held serious expressions. Deidara himself felt nervous, sending a quick glance to where Chiyo was still bugging Sasori.

"It has come to my attention that Sasori brought you here by force, did he not?" Gaara demanded.

"Um—"Shit, what the fuck do I do?"—I guess you could say that, un."

"What were trying to say is, are you happy here? Or do you want to go home?"

"U-un..."

"Deimara, be honest. We can help get you and your parents out of here, you can come to our kingdom." Kankuro suggested.

"W-why are you trying to help, u-un?"

"We haven't know each other for long—"

"—About three hours, un—"

"—but you're a really nice girl, Dei. I'm feeling some kind of attraction to you, and I'd like to give that feeling a try. What do you say?"

Deidara found himself unable to create words. Here he was, attending a celebratory ball for his two enemy kingdom's successful alliance, as the date of the man who kidnapped him. Not to mention the fact, that he also found himself disguised in a dress, with makeup lathered all over his face. And now, a member of the other enemy kingdom's royal family was, thinking Deidara to be a girl, stating he had some sort of feelings towards him.

'What the actual fuck do I do?'

His eyes shot around, searching for some sort of escape from this terrifying situation. Sasori was still caught up being attacked by Chiyo, and he was unfortunately being cornered. Luckily, his eyes fell on a familiar person. The blonde was incredibly lucky as the male looked his way, and Deidara sent him a desperate glance. Quickly, he was on his way over and Deidara was staring at the floor like he wasn't aware.

"What's going on here?" the voice demanded, "Deimara, are you alright?"

Deidara found his hand grabbed by Kisame's larger one, and the prince couldn't help but feel relieved. He lifted his head, and his vision was filled with the Common Blue butterfly's wings. Kisame gave him a toothy grin before looking back towards the sand kingdom's royal family. Deidara always felt tiny in the presence of Kisame, which normally made him feel uncomfortable, yet for once he was grateful for it. After all, Kisame looked like he was quite physically strong.

"We were simply having a discussion about her wellbeing here," Gaara spoke, "is it truly the best for her to be stuck here against her will?"

"With all due respect, King Gaara, that is none of your business."

"It is very much my business how the people in my ally's kingdom are treated, especially when my brother appears to fancy this girl."

Kisame's expression turned to one of surprise, yet Kankuro did not react to the statement. The blonde himself wished to simply disappear, he didn't like this at all. If only they had just locked him in someone's bedroom, then Deidara would have been much more content. He would prefer to avoid all this drama, but apparently it followed him no matter where he went.

"I can assure you, your highness, that Deimara is given the finest treatment there is."

"You took her from her family, and from her home! She's too afraid to mention it because she fears for her safety. She wants to leave!" Kankuro snapped.

"You must understand that only the king decides what will happen. Her stay is a bit of a complicated matter, and I ask you to respect our boundaries."

"You're even more difficult than those damn Namikazes!" Temari growled.

"This conversation is over. Deimara, please follow me."

Kisame swiftly moved away and Deidara scampered after him, using the path through the people that the larger male created. The blue-winged male approached Sasori and leaned down to whisper something in his ear, which immediately caused the redhead to scowl. He rose to his feet and motioned to Kakuzu who quickly approached before the three seemed to have a private conversation.

"Brat. Come with me."

Deidara's head shot towards Sasori as he began moving away from his throne and towards the double doors behind it. The blonde quickly followed, peering behind him to see the ballroom being cleared out. He tilted his head in confusion and opened his mouth to question what was happening, but he quickly shut it after realizing the foul mood Sasori appeared to be in.

They soon reached Sasori's bedroom and the redhead rushed in whilst not bothering to turn on the lights. Deidara entered after him yet when he looked around the king was no where in sight. The prince was awfully confused as he looked around, and took a few shaky steps into the room as he pushed the door closed. He passed the bed, and an uncomfortable feeling formed in his stomach. He reached out to touch the comforter, letting out a yelp when he was suddenly grabbed and a heavy weight fell onto him.


	11. Ten

They soon reached Sasori's bedroom and the redhead rushed in whilst not bothering to turn on the lights. He quickly moved deeper into the room and blended himself in with the shadows, watching as the blonde stumbled in after him. The prince seemed quite confused as he gazed around, and shakily closed the door behind him as he moved closer to the king's bed.

Sasori stalked closer as Deidara stopped right beside his bed, and he harshly narrowed his brown eyes as the brat struggled to locate him. When the prince reached out towards the comforter, that was when Sasori struck. He lunged forward, grabbed the blonde, before tackling him onto the bed. Sasori sat himself on the blonde's waist, holding his wrists tightly against the bed.

The king stared into those innocent, bright, blue eyes and he couldn't help but lose himself in them. The fear the blonde seemed to possess was growing stronger, and for some reason that only made Sasori angrier. Why was the brat so damn afraid? He was pathetically feminine, trembling under the redhead's weight. His golden blonde hair appeared almost brown in the darkness, and the cerulean dress seemed to complete the darker and mysterious look.

"D-danna? What are you doing, u-un?"

"You've been a bad girl, Deidara."

Deidara squeaked as Sasori's face moved closer to his, and the redhead simply smirked. The prince was simply too fun to mess around with. The king brushed a couple strands of hair from his face, chuckling at the frozen expression on Deidara's face. He didn't even know how to react, well, not at first. But then Sasori heard the words that he thought he'd be cursed to never forget.

"Danna, is your true gay self finally taking over, un?"

Sasori choked, coughing heavily whilst the blonde beneath him simply snickered. The redhead clenched his fist angrily, fighting the urge of smashing Deidara's face in. It appeared that the blonde found joy in taunting him, and he found himself in another Chiyo-like situation. As much as he wanted to kill the fucking brat, he couldn't. As much as Sasori despised the fairy kingdom, he was in no mood for a war.

"Danna?"  
Sasori scowled. He didn't know what to do with this damned brat. One minute he was driving the king insane, and the next he was bringing out that innocent tone with those big blue eyes. The redhead was growing sick of it; he didn't understand why the brat had such an effect on him. Overall, he just found himself quite stressed out with a situation he didn't want to deal with.

"What do you want, brat?"

"Why do you despise gay people, un?"  
Sasori raised an eyebrow; what kind of question was that? What isn't there to despise? Someone who is gay is a male, and they like other males. Of course he despised them, they shouldn't like other guys. Just like girls shouldn't like other girls. Any other relationship than a guy and a girl was just... wrong. It wasn't supposed to happen, and that's simply the way it was.  
"Why wouldn't I?"

"That's not an answer."

"It's not right."

"Well, why isn't it right? What's so wrong in a guy liking another guy? Or a girl liking another girl, un?" Deidara demanded.

Sasori rolled his eyes, "It's not the way we're made. We're guys, and we have dicks. Girls are girls, and they have vaginas. You put a dick in a vagina. You don't put a vagina in a vagina, and you don't put a dick in a dick."  
Sasori almost, keyword being almost, chuckled at the mortified look on the blonde's face. The prince had obviously been much too sheltered as a kid, or he was just one of those people who felt extremely comfortable in these conversations no matter the situation. Sasori predicted the first, as Deidara didn't seem like the sexually awkward type. Although at the same time, Sasori couldn't see him fucking a girl. He just seemed to fragile, by Sasori's terms anyway. He felt bad for whatever girl would be in bed with him in the end.  
"U-un?"

"What, too detailed for you, brat?" The king taunted.

"N-no! And j-just so you know, a v-vagina isn't the only place you c-can put a d-dick, u-un."

Sasori rolled his eyes, growing rather annoyed. He was already sick of this stupid argument that seemed to keep on happening between him and the brat. He had to admit the blonde's shyness around the subject was quite something. Still, what the hell did he mean that there was another place? Where the hell else would you put it? Oh—Sasori sighed at the realization.

"A mouth? I'd rather die than suck another guy's dick."

"No," the blonde blushed, "there's another place too, un."

Sasori raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about, brat?"

The blonde's blush grew much more distinguishable and he averted his bright, cerulean eyes from Sasori's cold gaze. The redhead didn't completely understand, as he rapidly searched through his mind for a possible answer to his confusion. Other than the mouth, where else—oh. Sasori shivered as the idea came into his mind, and glanced at the blonde beneath him, not wanting to be right.

"You mean," Sasori gestured to his behind which received a nod from Deidara, "there? Seriously?"

"Uh-huh, un."

"Why the fuck would anyone want a dick there?"

"Apparently it's just as pleasurable if not more, un."

"Ugh. Why am I even having this conversation with you?"

Sasori removed himself from on top of the blonde and sat quietly on his bed, the disguised prince still beside him. He couldn't exactly explain it, but he still felt some sort of anger. But he wasn't angry at the brat—not at all—but rather the brown-haired guy from the sand kingdom. Kankuro had touched something that belonged to Sasori and Sasori alone. He didn't understand the feeling that was growing inside of him, but he didn't want anyone to touch that damned brat.

"Danna, un?"

"What?" Sasori growled.

"If someone you liked, Kakuzu for example, was gay... would you hate him, un?"

"What do you mean, brat?"

"If Kakuzu were gay, would you hate him for it?"

Sasori went quiet, staring at the blonde boy beside him. Where had this question come from, and more importantly, how was he going to answer? Kakuzu, along with Kisame, was probably one of his most loyal subjects. The male was very wise and gave Sasori very efficient advice that had many times benefitted the kingdom as a whole. If Kakuzu were gay, would that change the way he worked? Now that he thought about it, he didn't think anything could change Kakuzu's work ethic.  
After all, he would still be Kakuzu. Sasori hadn't started off being close with the elder, but the midst had been his tutor when Sasori was growing up. To this day, Kakuzu probably knee more about the kingdom than Sasori. The king always considered Kakuzu's words and eventually came to see him as a friend. Of course, he'd never admit it out loud but it was a fact that he and Kakuzu just... knew. 

"I guess not," Sasori finally replied.

"What about Kisame, would you think he was any different?"

"Well, no, but—"

"What about me, un?"

"Look, brat, why are you asking all these ridiculous questions!?"

Sasori stared simply as the blonde frowned, and his gaze was anywhere but near the king. Sasori didn't completely understand why he was asking all these questions, but he found himself quite influenced by the blonde's words. Kakuzu and Kisame were who they were, and would being gay really change that? They were both strong, loyal, and hardworking. That wouldn't change just because they were gay, Sasori didn't think.

"They're not ridiculous, they're important! Why can't you see that just because someone's gay or a lesbian, that they're just the same as everyone else? They're people too, and they have feelings. You can't treat them differently just because they find their own gender attractive, it's not fair, un!"

"Why do you fucking care so much about what I think about it? I have my opinion and you have yours," the redhead snapped.

"I... I don't know, un. I really don't understand you," the blonde spoke. "Sometimes you're nice and you let me read with you, or play with the clay or just talk to me like a real human being. But then other times you get all angry and defensive and I don't know why. You were fine one minute, and a raging midget the next."

"A raging what?"

"S-sorry, Danna, un!" the blonde squeaked.

"You're such a brat," Sasori sighed. "Perhaps, being gay or lesbian isn't the worst thing... but I still don't like it."

"See, Danna? That wasn't so hard, un."

"Yeah, whatever. Now, what exactly did you tell Kankuro at the royal ball?"

"U-un..."

"Start talking, brat," Sasori hissed.

"I told him that we ran into each other, and that you liked me cause I looked different. And then you came and took me from my family, un."

Sasori snarled, angrily clenching his fist. He raised his arm and the blonde flinched back slightly, looking away from the raised limb. Sasori paid no attention to the blonde's fear, he was completely furious! That damned brat could ruin the treaty they'd just signed, and if that were to happen Sasori knew that the prince was not getting out alive.

"Why the hell would you say that? Fucking brat!"

"It's not like I'm lying. Danna, it's been over a month! I want to go home, un."

"You're not going anywhere until I get the potion back, brat."

"Danna, you can't keep me here! I have a kingdom to run, and subjects who need me. Surely, you must understand, un."

Sasori could see the desperation in the blonde's eyes. The prince wanted more than anything to leave this place, yet Sasori found himself despising the idea. The king would not allow the price to leave, not until he got back what was stolen from him. Yet, at the same time, he felt a much stronger want for the blonde to stay. He thought for a moment, before realizing the military advantage he'd have from possessing the prince. Yes, that was definitely it.

"You will not leave this palace. If you ask again, then I can't guarantee you ever will."

The redhead turned away from the blonde and swiftly moved towards the door, confusion forming in his chest. Everything was becoming a bit much for him to handle, and he didn't understand the emotions that he found himself feeling. He turned his head back towards the blonde, and immediately the redhead froze in his place.  
The majestic wings stood strong behind him, the colours strongly showing off his luscious, blonde hair. The wings were surrounded by a thick onyx border, and hiding inside with the magnificent cerulean blue that matched the colour of his eyes. Sasori couldn't look away, and his heartbeat began to move at a faster pace as the blonde pulled the dress off and over his head to reveal his perfectly tan skin.

"D-danna? W-what are you doing, u-un?"

Sasori's eyes widened as his brain seemed to reconnect with his body, noticing the blonde pulling his shirt on, and he looked away silently. The physical attraction was becoming too much, and he didn't understand why it was so strong. Deidara was just some spoiled little brat, so why did he have such an effect on the king? That's exactly what the redhead wanted to know.

"Danna, un?"

"What is it, brat?"

"I'm—" the blonde stopped as a loud yawn emitted from his lips, "—tired."

Sasori sighed, "Fine."

Sasori returned to his bed where Deidara sat and lay down, crawling under the covers. The blonde went to stand, but suddenly felt hand grip his wrist and his was yanked down. A little 'oof' came from the boy next to him but Sasori was past caring. He faced away from Deidara and pulled the covers over him, the prince doing the same.

"Oi, brat?"

"Mhm, Danna?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Stay away from Kankuro."

"But Kankuro's nice. Why, un?"

"Because I fucking said so! I don't trust him, and I want you to stay away from him."

"Okay, Danna. Goodnight, un."

"Night, brat..."

Sasori lay there silently and soon he could hear soft snores. Yet he himself, couldn't sleep. The redhead shivered slightly, finding himself not warm enough to settle down. He scowled slightly, wanting his rest after a long day. His rolled over to look at the sleeping brat, reaching out his hand to gently touch his arm.

A sudden warmth enveloped his fingers as his fingertips connected with the blonde's tan skin. The prince had a peaceful look on his face as he slept, and Sasori was jealous of the warmth he possessed. He growled lowly under his breath before poking the brat's cheek a couple times. When he didn't respond, Sasori was sure he was fast asleep.  
The king slowly nudged closer to Deidara until he felt their bodies touching, and Sasori was surrounded by a wonderous warmth. Deidara remained fast asleep, and Sasori was glad for that fact. He would never let anyone see him doing what he happened to be doing at that moment. His pride was quite important, and never again would he cuddle up to another person—let alone a guy.

But for this once, Sasori was too tired to care. His eyes slowly closed and he could only hear Deidara's soft breaths. That was the sound, in which lulled the 'ruthless' king to sleep. 

The last thing that entered his mind was a simple thought, yet it was one he didn't ever want to be spoken aloud.

He was changing.


	12. Eleven

Deidara sleepily opened his eyes, noticing the redhead was not in bed beside him. When he sat up, he could see the king across the room by his closet as he fixed his clothing. When Sasori turned, Deidara rubbed his eyes with a yawn. The blonde stretched his arms as Sasori moved closer, and he found himself yanked harshly out of the bed.

"You haven't had a shower in weeks, and you reek."

"U-un?"

"Chiyo will bring you another dress and do your hair again. Now, follow me and move quickly."

Sasori opened the doors to his bedroom and peered outside before motioning for Deidara to follow. The prince scurried after him, and the two very quickly moved through the halls. Deidara felt his head pushed down as they walked by some sand kingdom subjects, and immediately their walking speed was increased. What terrified the blonde, was when Kankuro exited his bedroom just ahead.

Deidara's wrist was tightly snatched and Sasori yanked him closer, suddenly picking the blonde up. He stupidly hadn't put on a shirt, as her forgotten he wasn't wearing one, and because of this it had become a life or death situation. Luckily, he was relatively scrawny. By looking at his bare back, one might easily mistake him for a girl. However, he didn't possess breasts and if Kankuro saw that... they'd be in quite a bit of trouble. 

Not to mention, it was difficult to hold his wings close to his body in the position Sasori held him. Now, if his wings sprung out then it would all be over. He'd be recognized immediately, and possibly ruin the alliance between the same kingdom and the dark forest. And yes, that would be a good thing for his kingdom... but it would likely be very bad for Deidara's health. 

Sasori would be furious, and probably beat the blonde. Then the sand kingdom would most likely want him dead on the spot. That sounded like a lot of drama, something that Deidara did not want to deal with. It was already difficult enough with Sasori so temperamental and moody all the time, so he didn't think he could handle three raging sand siblings.

"Greetings, King Sasori, is that Deimara? Why doesn't she have a shirt?" Kankuro demanded.

"I'm sure you heard of her mental illness, correct? She had a bit of a freak out and got a bit... sexual. I'm simply taking her to have a bath."

"I don't believe it for a second. Release her this instant."

Deidara felt some grip his wrist and Sasori immediately held the blonde closer. They made silent eye contact and the two knew something needed to be done. Deidara clenched his jaw, he didn't like this. He was throwing away the only dignity he had left for this stupidly attractive king, and his life too, but Deidara thought the stupidly attractive king was more impacting.

When he felt the hand grabbing at him again, he parted his lips and let out an ear-splitting screech. The hand instantly moved away and he tightened his grip on the redhead, forcing himself to tremble. He burried his face in Sasori's neck, and the king began to gently bounce him up and down like a mother would a small child.

"Kankuro, I can't deal with you right now. There's too many people around and she needs quiet. Move, now."

Deidara supposed the sand swallowtail moved as Sasori swiftly began moving forward, although remained at a slow enough pace that it would be classified with a quick walk. One hand moved away from his body to open a door before it was returned and Sasori slipped inside. The king kicked it closed with his foot and Deidara removed his face from the redhead's neck, allowing Sasori to put him down.

"Take off the rest of your clothes, brat," the king demanded whilst turning on the tap.

"C-can you turn around, un?"

"Brat, it's not like you have something I don't."

"Un..."

Sasori growled lowly and whipped around, impatiently crossing his arms and tapping his foot. Deidara lowered the sweatpants he'd worn to bed, glancing at Sasori to make sure the king wasn't looking, and there them aside. Although no eyes were on him, the prince couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as he slipped his boxers to the ground, and stepped into the warm bath. Hearing the splash, Sasori immediately turned and stepped closer; the prince's hands flew to cover his member in seconds.

Sasori reached for Deidara and the prince let out a high-pitched squeak whilst throwing his arms harshly against the water. Sasori let out an angry hiss and immediately the blonde's eyes shot upwards to see the soaking wet king. Deidara swore, at that moment Sasori had become a short, pissy, little demon of hell. He grabbed the soap and violently began scrubbing the prince's body.

Deidara thrashed against the force, letting out little protests of pain. Sasori paid no attention and the blonde shifted in a way that caused his wings pain. He yelped suddenly and the redhead jumped up in surprise. Deidara hadn't known exactly what happened, but the next thing he knew, Sasori was falling into the bathtub in front of him. The king snarled, smashing his fist against the wall. Deidara couldn't help but flinch as the redhead thrashed around like an angry cat.

The blonde quickly reached out to steady the king, the pink on his cheeks blazing. Sasori only scowled as he sat in the water across from the prince, arms crossed over his chest. Water dripped from his clothes, and his messy red hair was completely soaked. Although, the king didn't get out of the water, not at all. To Deidara's surprise, Sasori simply yanked his shirt off and threw it onto the counter.

"D-danna? What are you doing, un?"

"I need a bath anyway, may as well get it over with."

Deidara widened his bright, blue eyes as Sasori shifted, pushing himself up to a standing position. The king's hand moved to his zipper and he quickly pulled down his fly. The blonde covered his eyes, listening to the moving water as Sasori slipped his pants off his legs. His heart was pounding and his breathing sped up, he couldn't handle this situation. His hands were pulled from his face and he stared straight ahead at the now naked Sasori, who, despite being incredibly short, seemed to be quite fit.

"What are you staring at, brat?" Sasori smirked deviously.

"N-nothing! I was st-staring at nothing u-un!"

Sasori rolled his eyes, looking away for a moment as he grabbed the soap to wash himself. Deidara used that brief second to let his eyes trail down lower on Sasori's body, and they froze on the large member that the redhead possessed. Deidara's hands quickly covered his own as he felt it harden slightly, and the blonde couldn't help but bite his lip. He rapidly turned his head away as the redhead looked back towards him, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do you look so uncomfortable, brat?"

"I don't like bathing with other people, u-un."

Sasori rolled his eyes, continuing to scrub his body. Deidara shifted slightly, feeling his erection beginning to throb. He absolutely despised himself at the moment, and his attraction to men. He felt pathetic, completely and utterly pathetic. He was being turned on by the king of his enemies, that was also known as the straightest fucking faerie in all the surrounding kingdoms. God, he was dead. If Sasori saw it, he was so dead.

"Turn around."

"U-un?"

"Turn around; I need to wash your back."

Deidara refused to move and Sasori narrowed his eyes in annoyance. The redhead moved closer in an aggressive manor, reaching to grab the prince and move him by force. Deidara failed his feet, his only defense, struggling to keep the king away from him. Sasori only grew more angry, and increasingly violent in his actions. Deidara felt his shoulders grabbed and shoved harshly against the wall behind him, the redhead moving close enough for their bodies to touch.

He didn't know what was up with Sasori, but the blonde's luck was currently skyrocketing. Somehow, Sasori was so distracted in anger that he didn't see nor feel the blonde's boner below him. His chest was touching Deidara's, and the ladder's erection was poking the former's limp one. However, the anger in Sasori's eyes from the ignoring his orders tuned out every factor. But for Deidara, he could only sense the pounding in his heart and how close Sasori's lips were to his.

Feelings took over, and Deidara closed the gap between them. There was no innocence, nor gentleness, but a fiery and passionate kiss. The prince's hands worked their way around Sasori's body, feeling each crevasse, each line along his perfect physique. To the shock of Deidara, Sasori's tongue forced it's way inside the blonde's mouth and the blonde shoved his own pink muscle in the way.

The two violently pushed against one another until Sasori was victorious, and the king explored the younger's mouth. Deidara's fingertips moved to the redhead's hair, holding him closer and closer by the second. The prince's lung's screamed for air, yet he couldn't bring himself to let go. In the end it was Sasori who broke it, saliva still connecting their parted lips.

Both released soft pants as they stared at one another, before the redhead suddenly rose to his feet and removed himself from the water. Deidara watched him in confusion, and forgetting about his lower regions, rose to his feet. Sasori wrapped himself in a towel and headed for the door in silence. Deidara snatched his wrist just as Sasori grabbed the doorknob, and the redhead let out a deep growl.

"Remove your hand, or I break your wrist."

"D-Danna, un?"

"Get off!" Sasori lashed out his hand and Deidara let out a yelp of pain. The blonde was sent tumbling to the bathroom floor, slamming his head violently against the counter. His hands immediately shot up to his head, trembling at the severe pain he was being caused.

The door slammed open a brown-haired boy standing angrily. His vision was blurring heavily, and he could fee a warm liquid on the back of his head. They were loud noises, and his wings self-consciously shot out to cover in body. The noises grew louder and he felt people grabbing him and pulling him back and forth. A loud screech echoed throughout the bathroom and down the halls, and soon the blonde found himself gently lifted into the air and something warm wrapped around his body.

His vision flashed once more, and he was unable to identify the familiar blue hair. A high-pitched ringing formed in his ears, and Deidara wanted nothing more than to sleep. He could feel something being pressed against the wound on his head, and he parted his lips once more to let out another screech. This wasn't fun, he didn't like this. He wanted to go home, to be with his parents and younger siblings. He couldn't take it anymore, he didn't want to.

He was begging for someone to help him.

And his consciousness slipped away.


	13. Twelve

"Sasori, this is an outrage!"

The redhead snarled, glaring harshly at the Suna royal family. He understood their anger, but he was not ready for this conversation at the moment. He was angry, he was confused, he felt the need to throw a chair at a certain blonde brat's face. Why had he done that? Why the fuck had Deidara done that? More importantly, why the fuck did he, King Sasori Akasuna, participate in it.

"Sasori, I demand you answer me!" Gaara growled.

"What do you want, Gaara?" the elder redhead snapped.

"How long did you think you could keep this from me? I thought we were becoming allies, but no. You're fucking the heir to the fairy kingdom!"

"Gaara, I can assure you, nothing like that will ever happen."

"How can I trust you? Kankuro found the both of you naked together in a bathroom. And apparently the brat's bleeding out. What did you do? Fuck him so hard he got a head injury?"

Sasori scowled, feeling his anger grow more. He forced himself to take deep breaths, if he snapped then there would be no hope in fixing this alliance. It was that damn brat's fault. If he hadn't of come onto Sasori like that, then the king wouldn't have fought back. Deidara was probably trying to sabotage the alliance from the beginning, and he was attempting to play with Sasori's emotions to mess it up! But why did you kiss him back?

"Perhaps you should spend more time listening to the facts, and less time assuming."

"Then what did happen, Sasori?"

"...I happened to throw the brat into the counter."

Gaara raised an eyebrow, before rolling his eyes. Sasori crossed his arms, just as Kakuzu and Kisame entered the throne room. The two immediately made their way to the elder king's side, brushing past the Suna kingdom's royal family. Sasori sent them an angry glance, he was in no mood to talk to anyone yet these people continued to bug him. No matter what he said, they wouldn't leave him the fuck alone!

"News on the prisoner. He isn't looking very well, your highness. If we don't get him a doctor, then he may die."

"Let him die!" Gaara spoke before Sasori could, "He is the son of our sworn enemy! The fairy kingdom can't take on both of us at once, they're strong but not enough. We could completely destroy them."

"I have no interest in starting a war," the redhead responded automatically. Something told he wanted to protect Deidara. Sasori's hand moved to his forehead, letting out a quiet groan. Why wouldn't the voice in his head go away? It replied it was because he didn't see it yet. Sasori didn't understand what he was seeing. There's nothing to see about that fucking brat! Why didn't he want to go to war? Well, he didn't want to fight the Fairy Kingdom and he didn't want to lose his men in battle. The voice told him the Sasori didn't want to destroy Deidara's home.

"Your highness, are you alright?" Kisame questioned.

"Fine, Kisame."

"Are you sure, your highness?"

"I fucking said I'm fine!" the redhead lashed out. The others in the room flinched back, except for Gaara, each staring silently at the elder king. He was fuming, boiling, at his tipping point. He snarled suddenly, before he sent his fist flying towards Kisame's stomach. The larger male coughed heavily as the air was knocked out of him, and his eyes were wide with surprise. The next thing people knew, Kisame was on the ground and Sasori was standing over him.

"I'm sorry, King Gaara, but Sasori will continue this conversation later."

After speaking, Kakuzu grabbed the elder redhead by the arm and began to pull him from the room. The king snarled angrily, thrashing against the tan-skinned male but Kakuzu held a firm grip. Kisame stumbled up to his feet and bowed slightly to the Suna siblings before tailing after. Sasori found himself shoved out of the throne room and his two subjects rushed out after before slamming the door.

"What is going on, your highness? Everyone is incredibly confused. We found you and the fairy kingdom heir naked together, and him with a severe head injury. Sasori, we need an explanation," Kakuzu demanded.

"I'm not in the mood, Kakuzu."

"You can trust us, your highness, we need the truth. Did you fuck him?" Kisame questioned.

"No, I wouldn't fuck that brat if my life depended on it!" 

"Alright, then explain what happened." Kakuzu ordered.

"The brat was filthy so I took him to have a bath. After getting in the water he just screamed. It surprised me and I fell in, so I stupidly just threw my clothes off and bathed with him. And then that stupid brat came onto me!"

"So, you thought it was appropriate to give him a severe head injury?" the elder rolled his eyes. "Sasori, you probably don't want to hear this right now, but it's really bad. If we can't heal him, then we're going to be at war. Our only hope would be to attack them before they find out."

"No! I'm not going into war."

"Your highness," Kisame began, "are you sure that's your only reason?"

"Yes, Kisame."

Kakuzu looked towards the throne room before he turned back to Sasori, a solemn look plastered on his face. The redheaded king crossed his arms, staring at the elder with an unamused expression. His hand went to his forehead, and he scrunched his eyes closed. He was not in the mood for this right now, he strongly wanted to get away from this situation. He was so confused, and his head was throbbing.

He liked Deidara. No, he didn't. He liked that little blonde brat. Sasori shook his head; he didn't like Deidara. He despised him! No he did like him; he wanted him. No, Sasori did not want him. Sasori wanted him to stay away from him. If that's what he called wanting to fuck the shit out of someone then that was exactly what the bog king wanted. No. Sasori was straight. He was completely and utterly fucking straight. Yeah, about as straight as a circle. No. As straight as a straight line.

"Your highness, are you alright?" Kisame's words broke him from his thoughts.

"I've got a head ache," Sasori groaned. "I'm going to my room, and I don't want to be disturbed."

"Yes, your highness. But we really need to speak about the prisoner's condition⸺"

"⸺Kakuzu, I'm not in the mood."

Sasori whipped around, quickly moving away from the two. He'd grown up around Kisame and Kakuzu, in fact the king would consider them as friends. Although, he'd never admit it to anyone. He was glad when he arrived in his bedroom, and he quickly slipped inside before slamming the door shut. He buried his head into his hands; it was hurting. His head was throbbing, and the pain wouldn't leave him alone.

"What's wrong with me?" he muttered under his breath.

"You can't deny your feelings, Sasori."

The king lifted his head, and a scowl immediately crossed his lips. He was not in the mood for his grandmother's cursed rambling and obsession over his love live, especially not now. Right now, he felt the strong urge to punch whatever came close to him. And hell, his grandmother was getting awful close. It'd be a shame if the punch knocked her unconscious... and she didn't wake up.

"Go away, Granny."

"Stop being such a grumpy, little shortie! I overheard your conversation with Kakuzu an Kisame. So, my big boy had his first kiss, hm? Do I hear wedding bells?"

Yep, an awful shame; Sasori could see it now. His mental self didn't mean to punch her so hard. She was just a very fragile old woman, and was easily injured. Of course, Sasori would be in great woe if she were to go into a coma. And how the woe would completely escalate if she were to... die. Oh, what a shame that would be. Sasori tried to think of any reason he had not to hit her, but he could only think of one.

That would be animal abuse.

He put on a fake grin and stared at his grandmother, trying to wait until she'd be off guard. Chiyo only scowled, and shook her head. Sasori cursed his grandmother for her observation skills. She always knew when the redhead was about to hit her. It's like she was fucking psychic or something! She always just knew, and Sasori was quite subtle too. Well, if you called a smile so big it looked uncomfortable subtle. Shut up, conscience.

"Oh, 'Sori. Are you okay baby?"

"Excuse me? What did you just call me?"

"Honey, you look mentally ill. Are you okay, 'Sori?"

"If you ever fucking call me 'baby' or 'honey' again, I swear I'll have you hung the next morning."

"Don't be so grumpy! And 'Sori, you know it wouldn't work. Even if I did something, they'd suspect you for framing it."

Sasori scowled, he'd forgotten about that. Damn his loudly public hate for that old hag! Now if anything were to happen to her, no matter what it was, they always assumed he had done it. Hell, she could peacefully pass of old age and they'd find a way to blame him for it. Ugh, he truly despised everything. Well, mostly Chiyo. And that damn, insane, motherfucking brat!

"Sasori, listen. I know you're angry and confused, but you need to come see Deidara."

"I told Kakuzu and Kisame that I didn't want to be disturbed. Leave."

"Alright, you listen here! I know you and I don't really get along well, but this is a serious matter. You are king, and your feelings don't matter at the moment. Deidara's condition is looking bad, and he could die any moment. This is all your fault, so you need to help us fix it. If we can't save him, then our entire country goes to war against the Fairy Kingdom. If we do save him, we'll have a very angry Suna Kingdom and could possibly destroy the alliance that was just made."

"I know," the redhead snarled, "why are you telling me all this?"

"You have to understand this, Sasori. This is a choice that will determined our kingdom's future, and you have to pick. Will you save your alliance? Or will you save Deidara?"

"I... I don't know. The kingdom can't handle a war right now, but Suna will likely become very difficult to ha⸺"

"Sasori, stop thinking."

"What do you fucking want with me, you old hag!? You tell me to pick, then you tell me to not? Just make up your fucking mind, I can't deal with this right now! Why can't you see that I just want to be alone!?"

"I know you're struggling, 'Sori. This is hard for you, and you'll have to be brave. I know how cruel your father was, and how he raised you to be the 'perfect child'. But you don't have to follow in his footsteps. You don't have to be alone, and you have the power to bring kindness and love to our kingdom. But in order to do this, you have to want it. Because after what happened, it's not going to be easy to get him back."

"What are you talking about? You're fucking delusional. I don't like that brat, I'm straight. I am straight, I'm not gay. I've always been straight, and I am still straight. Never, will I ever, be gay. I am straight."

"You'll only hurt yourself if you keep denying it. I don't think you love him, but you definitely have some sort of attraction to one another. Deidara put himself out there, because he felt it too. You could be happy with him, but you have to give him a chance."

"I am not gay, and I will not give him a chance."

"Do you think differently about him now?"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"He's gay, do you think differently about because of that? Could you tell he was gay by the way he acted, or by the way he dressed?"

"He was... just like a regular person."

The door opened and the redhead looked up, his eyes falling on Kisame and Kakuzu. He scowled immediately, but the two said nothing as they entered the room. The door was closed behind them and they all came to sit on Sasori's bed, the redhead being stuck between all the people. He was rather ticked off, he told Kisame and Kakuzu he didn't want to be disturbed, but of course, here they were.

"Chiyo asked us to come," Kakuzu explained, "we have something important to say."

"Look, I've already had enough of the gay rant, and I can promise you that I am completely strai⸺"

"Straight, we get it," Kisame rolled his eyes. "That's not why we're here."

"Then what do you want?"

Kakuzu frowned slightly, "Would you think differently if we were gay?"

"This conversation sounds too similar to one I had with the brat. Did you put him up to that?" the king hissed.

"No, he did it because he thought it was right. Sasori, Kakuzu and I are both gay. We never mentioned it before because of your opinion against gays; we didn't know how you'd react."

"Sasori," Chiyo spoke quietly, "do you think differently of them?"

"I... I don't."

"There's nothing wrong with being gay," Kakuzu informed him. Kisame and Chiyo nodded in agreement, but the redhead stayed silent. He couldn't handle this, this was a bit too much. Deidara was gay, and felt attracted to him. Kisame grew up alongside him being gay and never said anything? Kakuzu too? Even when Sasori said extremely insulting things against being gay or lesbian right in front of them? They just put up with him? Did they even like him?

"Give Dei a chance, 'Sori."

But he couldn't. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't He couldn't allow himself to be vulnerable, he couldn't admit the attraction he felt to the blonde. He couldn't do this. He had to keep Deidara away from him. Sasori'd just have to be even crueler to the blonde than he had been before, yes, that would work. That would keep the blonde away from him easily, and as soon as the love potion was returned then he'd never have to see the brat agin.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you; you'll only hurt yourself. What do you want to do, 'Sori? Pick what you want to save."

"Suna is a relatively smaller country. However, they are big enough that if we allied with them, we could easily take out the Fairy Kingdom."

But he still wouldn't do it.


	14. Thirteen

Deidara

All he could feel was an intense throbbing in his head, pounding against his skull. His eyes refused to open, although he could hear the soft voices of faeries around him. His body was exhausted, all of his energy was drained at the simple task of twitching a finger. He parted his lips slightly to let out a cough, and pain shook through his body from the sound. He clenched his teeth slightly, being the only thing he was physically capable of doing, as he struggled to search through his mind.

Slowly, his soft, blue eyes fluttered open to see white. He was laying in a bed, and when he flicked his eyes around the room he could see various herbs and medicines. The owners of the voices that he had heard earlier were no longer there. The blonde took in a deep breath before he summoned all the remaining strength he possessed, fighting his body in order to sit up.

Limbs thrashed and blankets trapped, before the prince found himself plummeting to the floor. He let out a yelp when his body hit the ground, and he rested his throbbing head against the carpet. He heard the door open and the shuffling of feet before a loud gasp echoed across the room, and then the steps became a sprint. They appeared to exit the room, as the steps grew slowly quieter.

He lay there in peace for quite an amount of time, before the sound of quick footsteps grew closer once more. They stopped beside him and the prince found himself lifted bridal style into someone's arms. He weakly moved his head, staring up at the shark-like male with a yawn. Kisame gently placed him back in the bed, and then Deidara noticed the younger redhead beside him.

"Don't try to get up," Kisame instructed, "Karin says you could worsen your injuries."

"W-what am I doing here? What happened to my head, un?" the blonde groaned.

"You don't remember?" Kisame questioned.

"No, un."

"It's just a bit of amnesia," Karin explained, "nothing harmful. You'll start to remember once you're feeling better."

"Un..."

The door slammed open, causing the prince to flinch nervously. He didn't like the loud noise, and Karin apparently didn't like it either as she sent a harsh glare towards the elderly woman. Chiyo simply scoffed at the girl before approaching the prince, sitting down beside him with a gentle smile. Deidara said nothing, only staring at the arms she was holding behind her back. She only grinned, before pulling out a berry.

"Chiyo, it may not be a good idea to feed him—"

"Oh, nonsense. Here you are dear, eat up."

Deidara opened his mouth and leaned forward slightly to bite into the red strawberry. He groaned at the heavenly taste, and Chiyo's chuckling filled the room. Kisame and Karin were silent, although the prince could see jealousy in the giant shark's eyes. The prince had grown up with the fruit, and when he was younger he wouldn't eat any other but them. It appeared that Kisame shared his love for the beautiful and wondrous fruit.

"They're freshly picked too, 'Sori just loves them," the elder woman spoke. It was then that Deidara's eyes widened. Sasori. He felt memories pouring back into his brain, as he was reminded of what had happened when he was knocked out. Sasori had thrown him back and he had whacked his head against something; that was the last thing he remembered. But what had caused it?

Sasori reached for Deidara and the prince let out a high-pitched squeak whilst throwing his arms harshly against the water. Sasori let out an angry hiss and immediately the blonde's eyes shot upwards to see the soaking wet king. Deidara thrashed against the force, letting out little protests of pain. Sasori paid no attention and the blonde shifted in a way that caused his wings pain. He yelped suddenly and the redhead jumped up in surprise. Deidara hadn't known exactly what happened, but the next thing he knew, Sasori was falling into the bathtub in front of him.

He remembered, Sasori had fallen into the water. It had been a complete mistake, that was positive. The king was being rough when attempted to wash him, and Deidara hurt his wing. He had yelped in pain, not expecting the sudden excruciating feeling, and that had surprised Sasori enough to cause him to fall into the water. It had all happened to fast, and he had really been angry after that. But that hadn't been why Sasori attacked him; so why did he?

Sasori simply yanked his shirt off and threw it onto the counter. Deidara widened his bright, blue eyes as Sasori shifted, pushing himself up to a standing position. The king's hand moved to his zipper and he quickly pulled down his fly. The blonde covered his eyes, listening to the moving water as Sasori slipped his pants off his legs. His heart was pounding and his breathing sped up, he couldn't handle this situation. His hands were pulled from his face and he stared straight ahead at the now naked Sasori, who, despite being incredibly short, seemed to be quite fit.

Deidara couldn't help but blush slightly as he recalled that part, Sasori had simply undressed and decided to bathe with him. Why the king had done that, he had no idea. He could picture the scene in his mind with ease. Sasori's Scarlet Mormon wings tucked behind him, his hair a darker shade of red as it fell down straightly from being wet. Those deep, brown, sexy bedroom eyes staring at him. The situation had been too much for the blonde, he remembered, and that was why...

Deidara shifted slightly, feeling his erection beginning to throb. He absolutely despised himself at the moment, and his attraction to men. He felt pathetic, completely and utterly pathetic. He was being turned on by the king of his enemies, that was also known as the straightest fucking faerie in all the surrounding kingdoms. God, he was dead. If Sasori saw it, he was so dead.

Deidara mentally groaned at the memory, he truly was pathetic. He was naked, weak and hard in front of his enemy. That probably explained why the king clobbered him. But... the prince didn't think that was how it happened. No, something else happened, but what had it been? He just couldn't remember, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he searched through his mind.

Deidara felt his shoulders grabbed and shoved harshly against the wall behind him, the redhead moving close enough for their bodies to touch. He didn't know what was up with Sasori, but the blonde's luck was currently skyrocketing. Somehow, Sasori was so distracted in anger that he didn't see nor feel the blonde's boner below him. His chest was touching Deidara's, and the ladder's erection was poking the former's limp one. However, the anger in Sasori's eyes from the ignoring his orders tuned out every factor.

Sasori was too angry to even notice his erection, so that couldn't of been what triggered Sasori to throw him against the counter. Also, they were still in the bathtub, and he didn't think Sasori could throw him from in the water—especially considering they were both sitting. The position they had been in made it impossible, so what had happened? What had been the deciding point?

Feelings took over, and Deidara closed the gap between them. There was no innocence, nor gentleness, but a fiery and passionate kiss. The prince's hands worked their way around Sasori's body, feeling each crevasse, each line along his perfect physique. To the shock of Deidara, Sasori's tongue forced it's way inside the blonde's mouth and the blonde shoved his own pink muscle in the way.

Fuck. Deidara's mind was jumbled, as if every word of his vocabulary had been stolen from him but two simple words. Motherfucking shit. He had kissed the king, he had fucking kissed the straightest guy to ever walk the planet. And Deidara had felt him up while doing so. But Sasori... kissed him back? Why the fuck would the redhead have done that? It didn't make any sense. And if he kissed him back, why did Sasori throw him against a fucking counter?

Both released soft pants as they stared at one another, before the redhead suddenly rose to his feet and removed himself from the water. Deidara watched him in confusion, and forgetting about his lower regions, rose to his feet. Sasori wrapped himself in a towel and headed for the door in silence. Deidara snatched his wrist just as Sasori grabbed the doorknob, and the redhead let out a deep growl.

Sasori had came to his senses and pulled away... and why the fuck did Deidara try to stop him? He should have known not to. Hell, he should have known not to kissing the fucking bastard in the first place! But... his lips had been so close. Those soft, warm lips that Deidara got the pleasure to feel against his own. And that tongue that he had battled against, never had he known that the muscle could be so strong.

"Remove your hand, or I break your wrist."

"D-Danna, un?"

"Get off!" Sasori lashed out his hand and Deidara let out a yelp of pain. The blonde was sent tumbling to the bathroom floor, slamming his head violently against the counter.

Deidara lay on the bed quietly, his hand moving to his head. The pain felt no better, and instead only grew. It hurt, more than it had when he woke up. Why had he done it? Had Deidara fallen to such a deadly sin? And out of all of the seven, he had fallen to lust? He had allowed his lust to take over, and then he had pressed his lips against his enemies. By doing so, did that count as betrayal against his kingdom.

"Why... why did I kiss him, un?" he mumbled.

"I dunno, but do I hear wedding bells?"

'Shit. Did I say that out loud?' Deidara thought in shock.

"Yes, you did," Kisame answered.

Fuck.

Deidara pulled himself from his thoughts, looking up at the people around him. Kakuzu had apparently joined the group when he was lost in his mind, and Karin had apparently left. Deidara gently touched his head, immediately flinching back in pain. The bandage was wet with a sort of warm substance, and he was pretty sure he knew exactly what that 'warm substance' was.

"Karin's gone to get you some more bandages," Kakuzu explained.

"How long was I out, un?" Deidara yawned.

"About two weeks, we thought you weren't going to make it," Kisame muttered. "You went into a coma."

Deidara's lips formed a frown, he had been out for two weeks? That meant he'd been in this place for at least two months, two excruciatingly long months. He weakly sat up, with a bit of assistance from Kakuzu, and wrapped his arms around his legs. He pulled them close to his chest before laying his head on his knees. He missed his friends, his brother, his sister, his mother. He even missed his father.

"Why am I still here?" he mumbled softly.

"What do you mean, dear?" Chiyo questioned.

"In the dark forest. It's been two months," Deidara choked up, a sob coming from his lips. "I want to go home, why haven't they returned the potion? Why can't I go home? They need me there, and I-I need them. I can't take it anymore, I can't. Please... someone, just take me home, un."

Brick by brick, his walls came tumbling down and the storm inside was released. He erupted into sobs as he clutched his legs against his chest, and the prince felt anything but brave. His kingdom looked up to him, he was worshipped on a high pedestal for being brave and powerful. His kingdom loved his charismatic personality, and he found himself always surrounded by people because he was important to them. But now he sat alone in enemy territory as he fell apart.

He had always thought he was strong, but his ego was much bigger than any other he'd come across. This kingdom was where it fell apart, and he realized that he wasn't that brave, strong prince. He was weak and afraid. Deidara Namikaze of the Fairy Kingdom... was nothing. He had only thought he was. He was only a stubborn blonde brat who thought he had the power to change things. But Sasori was right, he was too weak. He couldn't handle this anymore.

"Deidara, don't cry," Kisame murmured. "Where's the kid who stood up to Sasori? The one who heard his orders and did the opposite. That's who you were when you first arrived, and he's gotta be in there somewhere."

"He wasn't real; only a front. I-I can't do this. Please, one of you, take me home, un."

"Honey, if they disobey Sasori..." Chiyo trailed off.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get hurt, un."

"Chiyo, you know he can't stay here. Sasori isn't in a good mental state right now, and the Suna family will probably attack him if they see him."

"Kakuzu, dear, are you sure this is something you're willing to do?"

"I think it's the best thing we can do," he replied.

"I'll help as well, so you don't have to go alone."

Deidara lifted his head slightly, his eyes falling on Kakuzu and Kisame. Were they serious? The blonde didn't even know what to think anymore, how could he know whether or not they were telling the truth? He couldn't trust anyone, they were liars. The dark forest was bad, and it didn't make sense. He couldn't fully trust them, no matter how much he wanted to. Even so, he hoped with all his heart that he would finally be able to return home.

"Deidara, just bare with this for another little bit. We can't move you in your current physical state, but we'll get you home as soon as we can. Just... hang in there."

"Un..."


	15. Fourteen

Sasori was silent as he sat at the large table along with Chiyo, Kakuzu, Kisame and the sand siblings. He sat up straight, remaining silent through the tension. There had been a lot of fighting and arguing over the treaty during the past couple days, and finally they were attempting to sit down and discuss it in a civilized manor. Suna felt betrayed, which Sasori now understood. Yet Sasori had no choice, which Suna now understood.

"So, he was your bait?"

"Yes. A member of the fairy kingdom entered the Dark Forest and infiltrated the prison whilst my incompetent soldiers failed to notice a thing. He stole a love potion and returned it to the fairy kingdom. We took Deidara hostage, and he is to remain here until the love potion is returned. However, if the potion is not returned by the three month mark then we will assume that means they have no intentions of rescuing the prince."

"I see. I don't like that you lied to me, Sasori, but I do understand your reasoning. I have a proposition," Gaara announced.

"In regarding to the treaty?"

"Yes. I still believe that this treaty is in our best interest, and therefore I would like to rescue it. Do you agree?"

"Yes, Gaara. I believe we can figure something else."

"Good. For now, let's rest on that and each of us can think of a new deal."

"That is reasonable, I will agree to those terms. Shall we hold the next meeting... one week from now?"

"Alright. I apologize if we are overstaying our welcome, Sasori."

"It's no problem. This treaty is as important to me, as it is to you."

"Understood. Until next time."

The many adults rose to their feet before beginning to file out of the dining room. Sasori brushed past most of the others and took off down the hall, he had the urge to work on his art for a while. It wasn't as often since the arrival of Deidara that he got much free time, and he was determined to get his mind off that supid brat and the many others of his kingdom. Everywhere he went, someone was trying to convince him he was gay for the prince.

Sasori was sick of it. He understood now that they had a problem with his rude comments about being gay or lesbian, but why was everyone suddenly so positive that he was gay? It was driving him absolutely insane. Sasori found himself drowning into his art more often, trying to distract himself from the endless difficulties that life seemed to be bringing him. Just like when he slammed into another person.

"Watch it!" Sasori snarled.

"Oh. My apologies, your highness," the voice hissed lowly. Sasori glanced up with a scowl, glaring at the taller male. Orochimaru's lips formed a slight smirk, his pale skin making him appear sickly. The king never was a fan of him, in fact Sasori had no like for him whatsoever. He wasn't trustworthy, and he was sneaky. Of course the redhead did like how fucked up prisoners were after spending even an hour with him, but he certainly wouldn't want to spend 5 minutes with the elder man himself.

"How is the young prince?"

"He's recovering, now don't mention him again," Sasori ordered.

"Oh, of course. I didn't mean to upset you, I just never expected you of all people to be sexually involved with the fairy kingdom's heir."

"Excuse me?" the king seethed.

"Oh," he chuckled darkly, "is that incorrect?"

"I am not having a relationship with that brat, and for the last fucking time, I am not gay!"

"I see, so that means you wouldn't mind if I pay our dear prince a visit?"

"Stay away from him, that is an order."

Orochimaru only chuckled, his lips once again forming that devious smirk. Sasori scowled, arms crossing over his chest. He had a bad feeling, a very bad feeling. Something was going on, and he didn't exactly know what. However, Sasori knew one thing for sure. He needed to find out what was happening, before it was too late. And somehow, he was determined that Orochimaru was the root.

Sasori pushed past the creepy jailor, heading straight to his workshop. He entered immediately, and one could imagine his surprise when he saw a feminine-looking blonde sitting on the floor. Sasori clenched his fist, and uncontrollable anger began to rage through his veins. That brat had come onto him, and had kissed him. It was his fault that everyone was smothering him, telling him to share his nonexistent love for the stupid brat. 

"Why are you in my workshop?" the king hissed.

Dediara's head shot up, staring at Sasori with wide eyes. The king's anger only grew more as the prince shyly looked away. He was sick of all this, he just wanted him gone. Ever since he'd shown up, Sasori's life had become incredibly complicated. Everything would have been so much easier if fairy kingdom had made the trade a long time ago. What Sasori really didn't get though, is that it had been over two months. So where was that brat's kingdom? Had they given up on him?

"Chiyo brought me, un..."

"Well, you can't be here. And you can't play with that either."

Sasori reached out his hand to snatch the clay away but Deidara immediately turned away, holding his arms around it protectively. The redhead snarled in annoyance, and harshly gripped the prince's wrist. Yet Deidara cried out, protested and screeched as he struggled to protect the clay in his arms. Eventually, Sasori yanked himself away from the blonde's thrashing.

"It's my clay, you stupid brat. Hand it over!"

"Chiyo said I could make my art, un!"

"Yeah, brat? Well that isn't art so looks like you're out of luck."

Deidara parted his lips and let out a loud wail before he chucked the clay at the redhead. Sasori hissed in pain as it harshly connected with his eye, and he stepped back to regain his footing. His hand held over his injured eye as he muttered many profanities under his breath. The prince was completely hysterical, sobbing and screaming and balling his eyes out on the ground.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Shut up, you bastard. It is art, it is! Art is an explosion, un!"

"Explosions are not art, brat. You're fucking insane! They're dangerous, and ugly and they hurt people."

"You're wrong. Explosions are beautiful, and the danger only amplifies that fact. It's a sudden beauty, and you will never be able to witness that beauty again. It leaves a print on the person who sees it, as they wish forever that they could lay their eyes on such a sight again, un."

"You know absolutely nothing. Look, brat. Art lasts forever, it's just how it is. If you can't see that, you have no future as an artist. Besides, whether you blow it up or not, your figures are sloppy. They look like the work of a toddler."

Sasori only glared down at the sobbing blonde, who suddenly froze. He remained silent and still for almost twenty seconds before rising to his feet and storming over towards the clay and lifting his foot. That was the exact moment that Sasori actually looked at the figure, and the walls he put up suddenly faltered before Deidara's foot came down, stomping on it over and over. The king only watched, as the tears continued to fall down his rosy cheeks and the scorpion sculpture was no more.

"Why did you destroy it?" the redhead murmured.

"Why do you care? You had nothing good to say about it a second ago, un!"

"It was a scorpion... Why?"

"It doesn't matter, un."

"Deidara, tell me, damn it!"

"I... was going to give it to you... as an apology, un."

Sasori went silent, an apology? Why the hell did the brat want to apologize to him? He was in a coma for two weeks because of Sasori. He had insulted the blonde's art over and over, and had been treating him poorly since the moment they met. So how could the brat be apologizing to him? After everything Sasori had done, and not apologized for, the blonde would still speak the words to him?

"I don't understand, brat."

"What's so difficult to understand, un!?"

"Why the hell are you apologizing?"

"Because I did something stupid! There, I said it. Are you happy? Deidara fucked up, let's have a celebration, un!"

"Honestly, you brat, you're so difficult."

"I'm difficult? Have you looked in the mirror lately, un?"

"You're just..." Sasori stopped. He didn't know what to say, exactly. He just didn't understand Deidara, the brat was too overemotional. One moment he was fine, and the next he's all over the place. The king took a deep breath, before he finally spoke. "Why are you so emotional?"

"Seriously, un?"

"Look, brat, what do you expect me to say? Just tell me why the fuck you're upset."

"I... thought you would understand. I guess I was wrong, un."

"Brat, I can't understand you if you're not going to be upfront."

"Fine, you want to know so bad?" the blonde's voice cracked. "How would you feel if you weren't even aloud to make art? My father won't even let me bring clay inside the castle, and I love it more than anything. You have so much clay, clay that you never even use. Art means everything me, but none of my work is ever good enough. I just want someone to like it, to respect my art. As another artist, I thought you'd understand, un."

Sasori was speechless. So speechless, that he couldn't bring himself to say a word as the blonde weakly exited the room. He'd woken up just a day before, and the king knew that he shouldn't be going off on his own. But what could he do to stop him? It was clear that Sasori had already done enough. The redhead now understood perfectly, he didn't get how he didn't see it earlier.

He himself adored his art, he didn't know what he'd do without it. In fact, when he though about it he could recall a conversation that he'd had with the brat once. It had been a long time ago, maybe a week or so after he first arrived. Deidara had been playing with the clay one time and eventually told Sasori about his father. King Minato cared for his son, Sasori had to believe, but he also seemed to care deeply for his kingdom. Deidara was no longer aloud to play with his clay, even when he wasn't going to blow it up.

It was obvious that he just wanted someone to appreciate it, Sasori knew he would feel the same. Of course his art was greatly respected by the dark forest, but he couldn't imagine a life where his work was ignored and ridiculed. He would probably be feeling the same as the brat was. Enemies aside, Sasori knew what he had to do. He went to his closet and opened the door up, quickly scanning through the shelves.

He snatched the bag on sight and instantly went towards his door, yet as it opened his eyes fell on his grandmother. Her arms were crossed and a harsh expression sat on her face, yet Sasori couldn't help but grumble. He shoved the clay into her arms and Chiyo simply grinned before turning and taking off to find the brat. The redhead just rolled his eyes, shutting the door before she could change her mind and return to bug him.

He sighed slightly as he moved towards his workbench, but stopped when his eyes fell on the clay clump on the ground. He crouched down to lift it up, quietly staring at what used to be a scorpion. He didn't completely understand the brat, not at all, but the prince had created that figure for Sasori. The king couldn't believe it, yet he did. He couldn't help but wonder, was the brat really all that bad? If anything, Sasori was the bad guy in most of their situations.

He couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he placed the stomped-on clay on the edge of his work desk. He gathered up his tools and some wood before looking to the scorpion and back to the piece of wood in front of him. Sasori brought his knife to the would and immediately started his work, a soft smile forming on his lips. A smile that had been hidden inside him for a long time, and it finally made it's return.


	16. Fifteen

Warning: Orochimaru the 'creepy pedophile' (Dei's nickname from previous chapter) will now arrive. Deidara's nickname is quite accurate, so be warned.

Deidara

Deidara lifted his hand to wipe a tear from his eye as he stormed down the hallway. He had thought Sasori would like it, and the prince couldn't hep but feel guilty. He'd heard about the way people were talking to him now, attempting to convince him he was gay. Of course the blonde was indeed gay, but he would hate it if all of a sudden the only people he really cared about him suddenly tried to start forcing him to be straight.

But then again, when Deidara thought about it, that was the relationship he seemed to have with his father. Of course Deidara had never shared his actual sexuality with his father, but the blond knew his father probably wouldn't care. After all, he was the heir so he apparently had to marry a girl that he didn't and wouldn't ever like so he could have kids that he didn't want.

He was so deep and thought, that he didn't notice the person walking the other way, until he'd bumped into him. Deidara's head immediately shot up, and he quickly began to mutter constant apologies. His mouth shut though, as soon as he realized who it was. He had incredibly pale skin, making him appear sickly, and his slitted, golden eyes reminded Deidara of a snake. The prince definitely did not want to recall the run-in he'd had with the slithery creature years ago.

"Oh, I don't believe we've formally met," the elder man hissed.

"I-I don't think so, un..."

"My name is Orochimaru, it's a pleasure to meet you, young prince."

"I'm Deidara Namikaze, un."

"You're as feminine as the rumors say; what a beautiful body you have."

Deidara shivered and took a step back as Orochimaru caressed his cheek gently. He didn't like this, he didn't like it at all. Yet when he looked up and down the halls, his eyes fell on no one. The pale man only smirked as he gripped Deidara's wrist, pulling the physically weaker prince close to his body. The blond fought hard, pushing and pulling as he struggled to move back. He yelped at he felt a hand grab at his lower region, and seconds later he was being pulled away.

Kisame's arm was wrapped around Deidara's waist, holding the younger against his chest. He held a sword in his free hand, as did Kakuzu who was beside him. The prince gripped tightly onto Kisame as he heard the raspy laugh, and he felt an unimaginable fear creeping up his spine. This guy had problems, real problems, and Deidara did not want to stick around long enough to find out what they were.

"Orochimaru, you are to say away from the prince at all times," Kakuzu growled lowly.

"Come on, 'Kuzu, I'm sure you're curious too. The sounds he'd make from under you as you fucked him senseless over a table."

Deidara's body froze at this, and he felt Kisame's grip suddenly tighten protectively. The was a sound of a punch and a groan, before the rustling of someone standing. The prince dared to peak backwards, and his eyes met golden ones with devious black-slits. Orochimaru smirked as he moved closer and Deidara ripped his gaze away, clinging tighter to Kisame. He felt movement from Kisame before a body hitting the ground, and the blonde figured he'd knocked him over.

"Heh, you won't be able to protect that boy of yours forever. One day, I will have him."

There was silence for several seconds before footsteps began to echo throughout the hall. Deidara shakily moved away from Kisame and looked back, seeing the snake-like man storm off on his own. Kisame's hand ruffled through his hair, and Kakuzu pet his shoulder reassuringly. He couldn't help but still be afraid though, that man looked like bad news, and who knows what he was capable of?

"Don't you worry, Deidara. We won't let Orochimaru anywhere near you," Kisame promised.

"You'll be back home soon," Kakuzu agreed.

It was then that Chiyo suddenly came rushing down the hall, looking to Deidara with a smile. Kisame and Kakuzu each nodded their heads in greeting before they went on their way, leaving him alone with Chiyo. She frowned slightly when she got closer and Deidara stared back quietly. Had he done something wrong to upset her? Deidara didn't recall doing any such thing...

"Why aren't you doing your art stuff like you asked?"

"No reason, un..."

"Did that grumpy shorty show up and take the clay?"

"Well, it's Danna's clay, un," he muttered in Sasori's defense.

Chiyo sighed heavily before whipping around and storming off the other way. Deidara stood quietly for a moment before heading off down the hall once more. He decided he was feeling rather hungry, and began to make his way down towards the kitchen. He followed in the direction Orochimaru and Chiyo had both left, but instead of stopping at Sasori's workshop, Deidara walked right past. 

He turned into a stair case and quickly made his way down, jumping from the second lowest step to the ground. Unfortunately, his legs didn't seem to like that as they buckled up from under him. Deidara simply groaned as he dragged himself back onto his feet, hand moving to his head. It was still feeling quite sore, and the rest of him was physically exhausted. In fact, he wasn't supposed to be up and around today. The only reason he had gotten permission, was because Chiyo was trying to help him get on his feet faster. The sooner he was okay to move around, the sooner he could leave.

He slipped into the hall and walked a couple more steps before he arrived at the door to the dining room. The kitchen had it's own door, which was closer to the fridge, but a lot of the time it was locked. The dining room door, however, was usually wide open. He was rather surprised to find it wasn't, and when he tried to open it, it was locked. The blonde shrugged and continued on to the kitchen door, which was surprisingly open when he tried it.

He looked around the kitchen, yet for some reason no one was there. Normally chefs were present all throughout the day, so why weren't they. It didn't make any sense to him, not at all. Even so, Deidara decided he may as well unlock the dining room door while he was there. He moved to the front of the kitchen and soon walked past the serving window, although he dropped to the floor within seconds as he saw the people sitting around the table.

He was silent as he poked his head up, quickly tryin to figure out who all was there. He recognized Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and Baki from the sand, and then there were quite a few faeries that he was pretty sure were from the dark forest. He saw the door open again and Orochimaru entered, key in hand, before closing it and locking it once more. Deidara didn't understand, why were Sasori's men meeting up with King Gaara?

"So, Orochimaru, how is your recruitment?" Gaara demanded.

Recruitment? What recruitment? Why the hell was Gaara asking Orochimaru about recruitment? He was confused, but Deidara knew it couldn't be good. Considering the circumstances, it was obvious that they didn't want anyone knowing about their meeting. But the meeting consisted of both men from Sasori and Gaara. However, only Gaara of the two was present. That certainly wasn't a good sign.

"Completed. We've got just enough," Orochimaru replied.

"Good, now we will be able to not only overthrow the Fairy Kingdom... but the Dark Forest as well."

Overthrow the Fairy Kingdom and the Dark Forest? Deidara was in a panic. He needed to get home, and fast. His kingdom was in danger, and he had to warn them, but Sasori's kingdom was in danger too. He would have to warn him, but what if the redhead didn't believe him. Sasori would probably put a more strict watch on him and then Deidara might not be able to escape and return home to warn his family. But could he really just leave Sasori's kingdom to fend for itself?

"Yes, and our agreement?"

"My men have been keeping the Fairy Kingdom away from the Dark Forest. It's impossible to get here, even if they did have that damned potion. They've been trying to get by for a while now, but we've made sure that they weren't able to. Also, any messenger animals were killed and the messages destroyed."

Deidara couldn't believe it, his family was coming for him. But if that was the case, and they'd been attempting to for a while, then how had Gaara known. Gaara only learned about his existence later, unless that had all been an act. Had the younger redhead already known? It was likely, after all, Orochimaru probably told him. The two had been working together for quite a while now, that was clear.

"Sasori and I will be meeting tomorrow about the treaty, so I'll let him know about the terms we decided on. Are there any you would like to change, while we're here?"

"I'm quite happy with the decided terms, although to be clear. When this is over, the Fairy Kingdom is mine."

"Of course, and the Dark Forest will be mine."

Orochimaru and Gaara each held out their hands, shaking in agreement. Deidara immediately crouched down before he could be spotted, it wouldn't be good if they discovered his presence. He had to get out of there and warn someone, but, who could he tell? Chiyo may not believe him, and Sasori probably wouldn't either. For all he knew, Kisame and Kakuzu could be working for Orochimaru. What could he do?

Deidara's ears perked at the sound of the door connecting the kitchen and the dining room opening, and the blond was sent into a panic. He dove underneath a table, covering his mouth tightly with his hand. His trembling wouldn't stop, and a loud crash was heard as he knocked over a pile of pots with his foot. Deidara's heart was pounding as the feet beside I'm froze. He watched in horror as a pair of knees hit the ground, before his eyes were staring into those black slits.

"Well, what do we have here? It appears we've got ourselves a little spy," Orochimaru chuckled darkly. Deidara winced as his wrist was grabbed and he found himself being dragged out from underneath the table as he struggled to hold onto the leg. The table only moved with him, and soon his fingers were pried away by another man who possessed somewhat long grey hair pulled back into a ponytail, and glasses.

Deidara thrashed against the grip as Orochimaru lifted him up and before he knew it, he was being dropped in the dining room in front of the many people before him. His body froze, and he lost his ability to move. He was seriously outnumbered, and who would believe his word against all of theirs? It was hopeless, and Deidara knew if Sasori confronted any of them and ended up believing them, Deidara would be a dead prince.

"You think you can spy on us, prince?" Gaara growled threateningly.

"I didn't know anyone was here, honest. I was hungry so I came to get something to eat, un..."

"Oh, so you want something to eat?" the redhead chuckled.

"U-un."

"Oh, I see. Orochimaru, why don't you give him something to eat? And if you mention one word about this to anyone, you'll be a dead man."

Gaara stood, as did all of the other Suna members, before making their exit and leaving Deidara alone with Orochimaru and the other faeries. Although with a glare, all but the grey-haired man with glasses began to file out of the room. The prince could hear the door click behind them as it closed, but that meant one thing. No one could get in, but he could get out. He could make a break for it and escape through the kitchen or the dining room. If he could get to Chiyo or Sasori, then he was home free.

"So, the little brat's hungry?" Orochimaru sneered, "I'll give you a piece a meat to swallow."

Deidara cautiously stumbled to his feet, quickly attempting to come up with a plan. He began to back away from Orochimaru but the pale man simply took one step forward for every step Deidara took back. The grey-haired male grabbed him and he found himself pushed to his knees as Orochimaru began to pull his fly down. The blonde prince rapidly shook his head, shoving them back as forcefully as he could.

He didn't like this situation, and Deidara wanted out. He was afraid, and nervous. He definitely was not okay with where this was going, and the heir needed to get away. He was being cornered by two men who looked both older, taller and stronger than him. However, Deidara was braced with agility. If he could somehow get past him, then he could definitely get away. He felt his hair yanked back and Deidara swore under his breath. He hadn't been paying attention, why had he zoned out?

"Kabuto, why don't you get him ready?" Orochimaru suggested to the male with glasses.

'Kabuto' grinned sadistically as he pulled down his fly, Orochimaru stepping forward to grab Deidara's hair. The blonde was forced to watch as the grey-haired male stripped out of his pants, leaving him in his boxers alone. A tent had formed where his crotch was, and he could see Orochimaru pulling his pants down out of the corner of his eye. Deidara squeezed his eyes shut, flailing out his limps as he struggled to release the grip from his hair.

His hair was suddenly yanked and Deidara couldn't fight the tears that were escaping his eyes. There wasn't much left he could do, well, he had one remaining option. But, he would only be able to do it once. If his timing was wrong, then he was lose all chances of getting away. If he did it when no one was close by, then not only would he have the shit beat out of him but they'd probably keep him completely gagged at all times.

"Listen here, blondie. Your teeth touch either mine or Kabuto's dicks, and you'll wish you were never born. You got that? Now, come and get your meat," Orochimaru taunted lowly.

"N-no... Un..."

"Open your eyes," the voice he predicted belonged to Kabuto ordered. "I said open them!"

Deidara trembled slightly but did as told, and soon his eyes fell on the two unclothed men before him. Despite Deidara being gay, he felt no attraction for either of the two. The only thing he felt was complete and utter repulsion. Orochimaru's free hand moved up and down his erect length, whilst his other still tightly gripped Deidara's luscious, blond hair. Kabuto grinned as he pumped his own length, stepping threateningly closer to him.

Deidara's jaw was forced open before he felt the limb enter his mouth. He whimpered slightly as he attempted to pull away, but Kabuto quickly placed his hand behind his head to hold him there. The blond couldn't help but begin to cry as the member was roughly moved in and out of his mouth. He felt his hair being pulled sharply and he let out a muffled yelp as he still attempted to get away.

"You better get sucking, or you don't want to know what'll happen to you."

Deidara choked out a sob as he began to suck on Kabuto's member, the elder male's hand guiding his head up and down his length. The blonde whimpered softly as he felt his own pants being grabbed at, and he began to kick his legs out and let out muffled yelps and cries. Kabuto only continued to move his length in and out of Deidara's mouth, and the prince felt sick as he heard a moan escaping the male's lips.

Deidara almost threw up when his mouth was filled with semen, and he finally removed the length as heavy coughs escaped his lips. He hated the taste in his mouth, he completely despised it. It was disgusting, and he wanted it out. The two seemed to allow him a breather as he hacked up the disgusting liquid, and he could hear their roaring laughter. Yet his ears perked as soon as he heard it, the door being pulled on.

Deidara parted his lips and released an ear-splitting shriek, which lasted for a likely five seconds before his mouth was forcefully filled. Orochimaru immediately thrusted his hips back and forth, and Deidara tried to push him away from his throbbing jaw. He heard a loud slamming, yet Orochimaru continued to pound himself deeper and deeper into the suffering prince's mouth.

Deidara was finally able to breath as his length was suddenly removed, yet the blond's eyes were woo blinded with tears to see who it was that had rescued him. He felt a pair of arms tightly wrap around him, and tears were being wiped from his eyes. The prince only saw the red hair before his head was pulled into his savior's chest. Deidara's walls broke down once again as he erupted into tears, tightly clutching the male's shirt.

"There, there, brat. Everything's going to be okay."


	17. Sixteen

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. Also, the plot for this story was based off an animated movie called Strange Magic that I saw on Netflix once, although of course it's filled with my own little twists.

Sasori

Sasori quickly moved his way through the long hallway, eyes searching for the brat. Chiyo had returned soon after taking the clay to state that she couldn't locate Deidara anywhere. The king had immediately began searching with a guilty feeling in his chest. He had upset Deidara, and now the prince was missing. Sasori couldn't help but feel even the least bit responsible, so he was no searching for the brat himself.

Kakuzu and Kisame had gone out to search as well, and even the sand siblings had offered to assist. Overall they had quite the search party, and Sasori found himself worrying much more than he felt appropriate. Still, he knew he had to find him. He could just imagine the reaction of King Minato if the Fairy Kingdom arrived to make the trade, and Sasori had to explain that he had lost the brat.

However, no matter where Sasori looked, he couldn't locate Deidara anywhere. He'd checked his bedroom, went back to the workshop, the library, the ball room, Kakuzu's room and Kisame's room. He'd looked everywhere he could think of, well, except the place he was heading now. The brat could have gotten hungry and went for a snack, which would leave him in the dining room or the kitchen.

However, when Sasori arrived it was quiet, and the doors were shut. When he tried to open it, the door was locked. It didn't make any sense, where had the kitchen staff gone? They knew it was forbidden to leave the kitchen unattended, but Sasori decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. They could have locked up and went off to look for Deidara with the rest of the castle members.

The king turned around, taking only two steps before the ear-splitting screech echoed through his eyes from the dining room. In fact, a scream that he was all too familiar with. Sasori snarled as he moved back before he slammed his body into the door, but it wouldn't budge. He cursed his smaller self and immediately shot his head around, before his eyes fell on the nearby chair.

Sasori swung it over his head and moved back before charging forward, harshly swinging the chair down. The doors slammed open and his vision went red from the moment he saw the familiar blond hair. He lifted up the mostly broken chair and brought it down on Kabuto's head, before yanking Orochimaru away from the trembling prince. Sasori threw the taller male against the table and immediately went for Deidara, pulling the sobbing mess into his chest.

"There, there, brat. Everything's going to be okay."

Deidara's fingers tightly clenched onto Sasori's shirt, and the redhead could feel it growing damp from the tears. Sasori gently hoisted Deidara up and clutched the larger male in his arms, yet at that moment Sasori just didn't care. He cared only about the wellbeing of the poorly treated prince. Sasori bounced him lightly as an attempt to comfort him as he carried him from the dining room and towards his bedroom where he could be alone with him.

He had left the two naked men in the dining room, although he figured they'd either be found or they would come to relatively soon. It didn't take long to reach his bedroom, and Sasori carried Deidara inside. The door was closed behind him, and the redhead gently lowered Deidara onto his bed. But the prince was petrified, and he simply clung to Sasori's shirt.

"D-don't leave me, u-un," he sniffled.

"I'm not going anywhere, brat."

"Danna, h-he wouldn't leave m-me alone. I-I tried to f-fight him but I couldn't, u-un."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. Orochimaru's going to have to go through me, or he's not getting anywhere close to you."

"U-un..."

Sasori gently rubbed his hand in circles on Deidara's back, attempting to assist in calming him down. He was still in a bit of shock, but Sasori would be surprised if he wasn't after what had happened. He heard a knock on his door and Sasori lifted his head silently. He could feel Deidara attempt to inch even closer towards him as Chiyo quietly stared at the scene before her. She stared at Deidara with pity-filled eyes, and Sasori was almost positive that she'd seen the two in the dining room and placed two and two together.

She gave a soft smile as she entered the room, a tray in her hand. She didn't say a word, and Sasori was grateful, but he understood why she had chose to keep her mouth shut. The king watched her leave and the door was shut behind her before he shifted himself closer to the tray. He poured the tea into the two cups Chiyo had brought up before he lifted himself up to lean against the backboard.

Deidara whimpered slightly and Sasori gave him a gentle smile, assisting the blond up beside him. The redhead held out a cup of tea and the blonde shakily took it into his own hands so Sasori could get the mug belonging to him. The prince took a small sip, and the king simply stared at the way his lips quivered. If he hadn't taken the clay away, if he hadn't insulted Deidara's art...

"Hey, brat?"

"Un? W-what is it, Danna?" the blonde mumbled shakily.

"I'm sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing, un?"

"Because I did something stupid," Sasori imitated Deidara's former words.

"Y-you didn't do anything, un."

"Yes, brat, I did. You're a great artist, Deidara. I shouldn't have been so cruel to you about your art views."

"Y-you mean it, un?"

"Completely," Sasori promised, "I made you something."

Sasori watched as the blonde looked to him in surprise, and the king gave a soft smile as he reached into his pocket to pull out the small figure. Deidara's eyes moved wider and he reached out with a shaky hand, taking the small carving into his palm. He clutched it tightly in his fist, taking another sip of his tea, before resting his head onto Sasori's shoulder. The king didn't protest, in fact he didn't find it bothering him.

"Thank you, Danna, I love it. I'll cherish it forever, un."

"I'm glad you like it, brat. I know it's not enough to make up for everything I've done, but..."

"It doesn't matter what you've done. You're trying to make up for it now, and that's all that counts, un."

Sasori couldn't help but smile once more as he took another sip of his tea. He seemed to be showing his happiness a lot more than usual today, he was happy in general more than usual today. In fact, he actually was happy. Normally Sasori was annoyed, pissed off and angry. Yet for once, he actually found himself feeling genuine joy. It had been many years since he'd felt like that, he was pretty sure the last time he'd been happy was before his mother passed away. After that, he lost all reason to be joyful.

"Brat, can I ask you something?"

"You just did, un."

"So... you're gay?"

"Un," the blonde nodded.

"And your parents accept that? I mean, the entire Fairy Kingdom is fine with it?"

"My case is a bit more complicated, un."

"How complicated could it be, brat?"

Deidara frowned slightly as he stared down at his lap, taking yet another sip of the delicious tea. Well, Sasori thought so. No one could make tea as good as Chiyo's, it was one of the very few positive things about his grandmother. It certainly wasn't enough to outweigh all the cons, but Sasori would definitely drink every sip of that tea he got. Not to mention her cookies, which Sasori had also spotted a plate of on the tray.

"The Fairy Kingdom fully accepts all sexualities, but the heir to the throne is always assumed to be straight. I'm expected to marry some girl, make her my queen and produce an heir to run the kingdom when I die, un."

"So, even if being gay is accepted, you're not allowed to marry a guy?"

"That's all there is to it, un."

"Well, shouldn't your father accept you being gay to set an example?"

"I guess, un?"

"What do you mean, 'I guess, un'? Why didn't he accept it?"

"I didn't tell him..."

Sasori went silent as the blonde took another sip of the tea. The redhead did so as well, before letting a somewhat silent breath escape. He reached over the plate of cookies and held it towards the blonde, who very excitedly took one. Sasori chuckled as the brat shoved the whole thing in his mouth, struggling to chew it properly. The king himself grabbed one of the cookies before placing the plate in his lap and taking a bite into his own.

"Brat, you have to tell him or he'll never accept it."

"He wouldn't care; all that matters to him is that I get an heir. A man wouldn't get me an heir, un."

"You don't know that's how he would feel about it."

"I do, un!"

"People can surprise you. I used to hate people for being homosexual, remember? And here I am giving you advice to come out to your father."

Deidara laughed lightly as he reached for another cookie, taking a large bite. Yet Sasori couldn't help but notice the blonde was slightly distracted by something. Even so, Sasori chose not to bring it up. He didn't want to upset the blonde more, especially after what had happened. Making sure Deidara was alright was his first priority, and then Sasori would deal with the fucking pedophile.

"I guess you're right. Hey, you're not as bad as before, un."

"As bad as before?"

"Yeah. When I first got here you were cruel and aggressive and more difficult. But right now you're being nice, un."

"That's a new word. I don't anyone's ever described me as nice before."

"Would you rather I call you bastard, un?"

Sasori couldn't help but laugh, "I'd always be so angry. I remember back when you'd only been here a week. You got angry at me for calling Chiyo an old hag, and I got so pissed off that I strangled you."

"Yeah, you were bad. What did I say, un?"

"What, no reassuring words? No kind comments?" The king teased.

"Oh, sorry. I think we ran out of those. Can I interest you in anything else? We just got a load of rude pointers and sarcastic jokes, un."

"Oh, thanks, but I've received plenty enough of those already."

"Oh, that's too bad. Nice doing business with you, un."

The two were only able to remain silent for a couple seconds before bursting into laughter, and Sasori couldn't seem to get the smile off of his face. The brat drove him absolutely insane, but he found himself enjoying his company. He could actually be a lot of fun, at least when Sasori gave him a chance. Of course, he wouldn't want anyone else to see him this way, but the redhead felt like he owed it to Deidara to treat him with respect; especially after all the shit that happened.

"Danna, can I ask you a personal question, un?"

"I guess, brat."

"I remember once, I told you that I would never become a monster like you. You said that those were the exact words your used to your own father when you were younger. Danna, what happened, un?"

Sasori was left speechless. He didn't know what to say, he couldn't speak of it. He didn't want to remember, he didn't want to remember the events of the past. His father was terrible. He was cruel, sadistic, devious, he despised homosexuality; just like Sasori was before the brat showed up. That was it, before the brat showed up. He wasn't still like his father now, was he? His father would have taken on the fairy kingdom, his father wouldn't have stopped Orochimaru and Kabuto. His father would have done many things differently, but... they were still blood. Did that mean they were the same no matter what?

"If you don't want to talk about it, I understand, un."

"No, it's not that. My father hasn't come up in a long time, that's all. I... I don't like being compared to him."

"Danna, I've heard stories about your father. I never met him, or even saw him, but words went around. Maybe you were a lot like him once, but you've changed from the way you were when I first got here. I mean, back then we never would have been able to just sit down and talk like this. Not without one of us killing the other, un."

Sasori laughed, "I guess you're right. I got my red hair from him, it's kind of a signature Akasuna thing. Kind of like your blond-haired and blue-eyes Namikazes."

"What about your eyes, un?"

"My mother. I was somewhat younger when she died, but I still remember it like a nightmare. My father would never let me go outside with the other kids, or spend time with anyone he considered 'below' me. My mother was my best friend, and the only person I really had."

"W-what happened to her, un?"

"...My father. That fucking bastard murdered her. He killed her because she refused to have sex with him. She had been feeling sick and wasn't in the mood, and she fought against him. I remember waking up in the middle of the night, hearing her. I went into my parents room, trying to figure out what was wrong and I see my mother on the floor with a knife in her stomach while my father was fucking some random slut on their bed."

"Danna..."

"I promised myself I wouldn't become like him, and I broke that promise. My mother would have been ashamed if she saw the man I turned into. I told her that I'd change our kingdom, that I'd made it a better place and I didn't. I dishonoured my mother's last wish."

"So, you messed up. But it's not too late, un."

"What do you mean, brat."

"Well, you know now, don't you? Maybe it'll take some time, but you could still fulfil your promise. You're nothing like your father, Danna, not anymore. You could still change the dark forest for the better, I believe you can, un."

"How am I supposed to do that? I don't know the first thing about being nice. Haven't you learned that by now, or are you still just a stupid brat?"

"It's easy. You just have to start by saying 'hello', un."

"Yeah, and then what?" Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"The opposite of what you want to say, un."

Sasori snorted, shaking his head. He brought the cup of tea to his lips as the blonde beside him simply giggled, stealing another cookie from the plate. He was surprised how things had worked out; here he was drinking tea and eating cookies with the son of his biggest enemy. Yet then Sasori considered something. Why, exactly, were they enemies? Yes, perhaps he and Deidara had his ups and downs, but otherwise why couldn't they form a truce. He could ally himself with both the Sand Kingdom, and the Fairy Kingdom and he could protect his own kingdom with ease.

Yet there was just one little problem with his idea. Deidara was still in the Dark Forest, he hadn't yet gotten home. Even so, he didn't think Minato would be very thrilled to hear the idea under any circumstances. He certainly wouldn't trust Sasori after what had happened, and the king certainly didn't blame him. Sure, Sasori didn't have a son, or any kids for that matter, but he understood the feeling. He had been so angry with his father after what happened to his mother, and he knew that Deidara's parents were probably worried about him. But then... Why wouldn't they be there? They hadn't even sent a message or anything.

"Brat, do you miss being home?

"I couldn't say no, even if I wanted to. We've had some nicer times and some terrible ones, but the Fairy Kingdom is where I belong. I have to get back to it, un."

"I understand what you mean, brat. Listen, I'm going to send a messenger to your kingdom to figure out what's going on with them. For us, let's try to be civilized so we don't end up killing each other in the next couple days."

"Yeah. Sounds good to me, un."  



	18. Seventeen

Deidara lay on Sasori's bed, molding the clay within his hands whilst the redhead himself was working on a puppet limb. He had made a pile of figures by the end of the bed in the time Sasori had been created only a part of his own. They puppets were a little bit creepy to Deidara, but they were good quality. As a fellow artist, he respected Sasori's art style and he would admit that his Danna had been an artist for a longer period than he.

As he finished a small bird, he tossed it into the pile before grabbing another clump and beginning to mold it. He was silent as he did so, his mind traveling to the dining room. He didn't want to remember what had happened to him, but he had to. After all, if what he had heard before was official, his and Sasori's kingdoms were not safe. But Sasori may not believe him, he could think that he was just trying to ruin his reputation or take down Orochimaru.

"Danna, did you send the messenger to my kingdom, un?"

"Yes, I did, brat. His name is Zetsu, and he's very skilled at getting by people unnoticed. He can get right to the castle with no problems."

"That's not sketchy at all, un."

"I didn't have to send him, you know. I could have just left you until the three month mark, and then the faeries would demand I kill you. Instead, here I am trying to find out why you're still here."

"What, can't wait to get rid of me, un?"

"That's definitely it. It'll be nice when I don't have a brat running around the castle causing trouble."

Deidara rolled his eyes as he carefully used his fingernail to detail the figure. He grinned at it's completion and rolled off the bed, moving over to Sasori. He poked the king on the shoulder, and the redhead placed his puppet arm down with a sigh before looking back with an annoyed look. Deidara simply pouted as he held the figure, and Sasori's lips slowly twitched from a scowl to a smile. He held out his hands and Deidara gently placed the clay scorpion in his palms.

"There, now we're even, un."

"I guess we are, brat."

Sasori stood up and walked over to the side of his room where a large shelf was against the all. He began to clear the shelf of his extra tools and instead shoved them in his drawer, leaving the shelf empty. He placed the scorpion on his bedside table, and Deidara couldn't help but feel the pride forming in his chest. His Danna had liked his art, after all. His ego only continued to inflate as Sasori replaced his moved tools with Deidara's clay sculptures.

"Danna, do you ever leave your castle, un?"

"Not often. I wasn't aloud to leave as a kid, but I have been around enough times to know our territory well."

"I used to leave the castle all the time to meet up with my friends, un."

"A brat like you actually had friends?"

Deidara scowled and lightly punched the redhead in the chest, playfully crossing his arms. Sasori just snickered as the blond glared at him, and eventually Deidara's giggles joined in. It was a strange sight, the two of them. No one had ever expected that they would truly get this far. Of course they had pushed them to get along, but no one actually thought they would. It was amazing how tragedies and terrifying experiences brought people together.

"I do have friends! There's Itachi, Hidan, Tobi and Pein."

"Oh, this I'd like to hear. I want to know how crazy these fairies are to be friends with you."

"Rude," Deidara scoffed. "Tobi is really fucking annoying. He talks in the third person and he's always jumping all over the place. He is obsessed with me, and he's always clinging to me all the time. He's a lot of work, but he's actually pretty funny when you watch him. He does some pretty stupid stuff, un."

"Sounds somewhat familiar," Sasori grinned tauntingly.

"Shut up! Then, there's Pein; he's the oldest of our group. He's mostly responsible, and pretty scary when he wants to be. Not to mention he's always got an oncoming wave of sarcastic comments and jokes. His family makes furniture, so he's pretty good at working with wood. Not as good as you, Danna, but he's got a lot of talent, un."

"Oncoming wave of sarcastic comments and jokes? Is that where you get it from?"

"How can you find ways to insult me with every one? Hidan is next, his family are all tailors. He's extremely loud, obnoxious and he's always swearing. If he says a sentence without swearing, run away because the world is ending. He has this weird religion, Jashinism. But if you'll insult it, he'll murder you. Overall though, he's a good friend, un."

"No similarities between you two, brat."

"Oh, wow. So I'm not a good friend, un?"

"Just tell me about the last one."

"Itachi. He doesn't show his emotions much, he doesn't really talk much in general. He always seems to have a stoic expression, but that might be because of what happened with his brother. He's a member of the Uchiha clan, just like Tobi, so he's one of the kingdom's shoulders. His combat skills are insanely good, but he's very peaceful. He doesn't like fighting, un."

"His brother?"

"Sasuke Uchiha. Now that I think of it, he apparently came here, un."

"Yeah, I know him. Don't tell him that you're friends with his brother though, he gets aggressive about it."

"I'll remember that, un."

Silence came between them, and Deidara fiddles his fingers in his lap. He wanted to tell Sasori about the meeting. He wanted to tell Sasori about Orochimaru and Gaara, but then what? And Sasori would probably confront them too, and then what would happen to Deidara? He remembered Gaara's threat quite well, and then he would be killed before he could warn his own kingdom. Risk his own kingdom to save Sasori's? Deidara couldn't do that.

"I know you're still recovering, but do you want to go stretch our wings? I haven't gone out for a fly in a long time, and I don't think you have either."

"I'd like that, un."

Deidara lifted himself off the bed and reached into his pocket, making sure the wooden figure was still there. The lights suddenly went out and his eyes flickered to Sasori who stood in the doorway with a small chuckle. The blonde took one final glance towards the clay scorpion before he approached the king, and stepped into the hall. Sasori closed the door behind him, and the two were about to begin walking when the prince froze.

The sand siblings quickly moved down the hall, Gaara glaring at him with a smirk. Deidara shrunk back slightly, and Sasori placed his hand on his shoulder. The prince stepped closer to the king, surprising Sasori, before the two began in the opposite direction. The blond was glad, at least, that Sasori chose not to ask any questions. What would he say? He couldn't tell Sasori the truth, or he'd be in a lot of trouble. But he didn't want to just leave him to fend for himself... He'd have to come up with something so he could warn Sasori, but then he would be around to get in trouble.

Sasori stopped him at a pair of glass double doors, and the redhead stepped forward. He pushed them both open, and Deidara's sights fell on the dark forest that the king called home. He took several steps out, moving ahead of Sasori, his eyes fixated on the decaying life. Deidara flinched slightly as a hand was placed on his shoulder, yet his nerves calmed when his eyes fell on the redhead beside him.

"It's not really all that beautiful to your kingdom, but I like it. It's home," Sasori breathed out.

"Everything as beauty, but not everyone sees it, un."

"Do you?"

"I do, un."

The redhead moved a step forward, and lifted his wings for all to see. Deidara was lost, staring at the pitch black wings in front of him, accented with a vibrant and breath-taking red that matched the king's hair. The said male looked back towards Deidara with a smirk, a slight taunting look upon his face. The blond couldn't help but grin as he moved to the Scarlet Mormon's side, lifting his own wings up.

"This is the first time I've actually gotten to see your wings, brat."

"I guess you're right, but I've seen yours once or twice, un."

"They match your eyes."

"The red bits in your wings match your hair. Oh, and the black matches your soul, un."

Sasori scowled instantly, gently flicking Deidara's forehead. The prince couldn't help but burst into laughter, it was totally worth it. Sasori shook his head, but he couldn't seem to hide his grin. The blond liked this side of Sasori, the side that he was finally getting to see. It had been so long since he'd arrived, and the redhead's personality had almost flipped since he did. Of course, he was still nasty and irritable but that was just who he was. Deidara wouldn't change him, even if he had the chance.

"Come on, let's just go. And don't even think about trying to escape, you brat."

"I won't, un."

Sasori's wings began to flicker back and forth as he rose of the ground, and Deidara lifted himself up beside him. His Danna took the lead, and the blond remained hot on his tail. Sasori lowered himself slightly, brushing his hand softly against a vine. The prince watched in awe as it responded to his touch, unrolling itself to reach high into the sky. He approached another and gently ran his own hand against it, shivering at the softness it provided before it rose to join the other.

"Come on, there's more I want to show you."

Deidara lifted his head and flew towards the redhead, brushing his hands against the plants as he passed. Sasori laughed slightly, flying ahead and copying the blonde. Deidara quickly dove out of the way as a plant shot up in his path, and he sent a harsh glare at the king who was snickering ahead. As he caught up, Sasori was poking a stick to a Venus flytrap. It snapped shut and the redhead placed his feet down, standing on the closed jaw.

He poked the next and stepped onto it, allowing Deidara to step on the first. He watched as the redhead moved forward with ease, creating a path behind him as if he were walking on simple ground. The blond looked forward nervously, before jumping to the next one. He giggled slightly as he continued to hop from trap to trap, glancing up to see the redhead waiting on the last one.

During his moment of distraction, he misplaced his foot and the prince let out a yelp as he began to slip. Within seconds, a hand had snatched his wrist, and Deidara glanced up to see Sasori fluttering above him. He pulled him back up and the blond steadied himself before taking over his own flight. The king nodded before turning around and flying off once more, and the prince trailed after him.

The redhead dove into a thorn bush, and Deidara swopped down to follow. He winced in pain as his wings were caught, and he in the end was forced to back away. He stared into the maze of thorns with a frown, although a familiar redhead soon emerged once more. Deidara looked away with an embarrassed look and Sasori's chuckle reached his ears. He flew close to his side, and Sasori lifted Deidara's chin.

"What's wrong, brat?"

"I can't get through. My wings are too big, un."

"It takes some practice, although my wings are a bit smaller than yours."

"Sorry, Danna, un..."

"Do you trust me?"

"Un?"

"Do you trust me?" the king repeated.

"Y-Yes, un..."

"Fold your wings, brat."

Deidara looked at Sasori in surprise, the redhead holding out his hand. The prince took a deep breath before placing his hand in the large one, and beginning to fold his wings. Sasori pulled his back into his chest, and wrapped his arms around the slightly taller blonde. The prince was enveloped in warmth and he couldn't help but relax in the redhead's hold. The grip around him was tight, holding him protectively so he wouldn't fall.

"D-Danna, un..."

"Shh, brat."

Sasori dove into the bush, and Deidara attempted to squirm closer into the grip as he held the king's arms fearfully. The redhead dodged around the thorns and little branches, and Deidara gazed around curiously. When he thought about it, the sight was beautiful in it's own way. Perhaps it didn't hold the same beauty as flowers or trees, but it was still a stunning sight to see.

"Thank you, un..."

"For what, brat?"

"For showing me this, un."

"Oh, but this is only the journey there."

Deidara couldn't help but blush as they reached the end of the bush, and the thorns surrounding them now remained behind. Sasori moved away, and the blond already missed the warmth that had been provided to him. Still, the redhead held his hand as Deidara once again lifted his wings, allowing the blond to take flight once more. The king removed his hand from the prince's grasp, taking a glance behind him.

"Oi, brat. Race you to that tree."

"You're on, un!"

Deidara flapped his wings at a quicker pace as he took the early lead, Sasori closely tailing him. He felt his ankle gripped and pulled back as the snickering king zoomed past him, and Deidara snapped curses as he attempted to overtake him once more. The blonde shot his eyes around, until they landed on the plant Sasori had shown him before. He quickly moved to it, gripping the vine in the middle just as it shot upwards.

The prince found himself thrusted forward, losing control as he flew through the air. He managed to even himself out when getting ahead of the king, and he snatched the branch of a bush as he went by, releasing it like a slingshot as the redhead got closer. He cursed lowly as Sasori quickly flew over it, catching up once more with the blond. As they grew closer to the tree, the redhead finally took the lead and landed on the large branch only a second before Deidara.

"Nice try, brat. It'll take a lot more speed than that to beat me."

"You cheated, un!" the blonde complained.

"We never specified it wasn't aloud, brat."

"Not fair, un."

"Fine, next time there were be no contact."

"So, what did you want to show me, un?"

"This. Look, brat."

Deidara turned his head in the direction Sasori was pointing, and he almost stopped breathing. They were somewhat close to the border. Not only could he see a part of the dark forest, but he also saw a large part of his own kingdom. He could even see a border patrol traveling along the outskirts, swords ready in hand. He grew nostalgic at the familiar sights, and a faint aching began to grow in his chest.

But that was when he saw it, the familiar face. His body took a step forward without his mind's permission, his hand gently touching the tree trunk. His brother flew into sight, landing right beside the border between the two countries. He was silent, for once in his life, as he simply stared into the darkness with a rather depressed look on his face. The prince desperately wanted to step forward, to alert his brother of his presence, but he knew Sasori would grow incredibly angry if he did so.

"Brat, that's your brother, right?"

"Yeah. He looks a lot different than the last time I saw him, un."

"I've heard that he's pretty loud and hyper."

"Normally, he is. Right now he just looks kind of depressed, un."

"Maybe he just misses you, brat. You are his elder brother."

"I guess, un..."

"Why don't you go see him?"

"Wh-what, un!?"

"Find out what's going on, brat. I'm still as curious as you as to why they haven't come yet. But don't even think about running off, or I'll break your wrists."

"U-un..."

Deidara slowly moved forward, and lowered himself towards the ground. His feet touched the grass, and he sent a glance up at the redhead who lurked amongst the trees. The king moved himself to the border, and Deidara quietly walked on, yet remained out of Naruto's sight. He didn't understand why Sasori was letting him do this. or what he was supposed to say to his brother. It had been so long, could Deidara leave after seeing him again?

He poked his head out from behind a stem, and is brother simply sat. The blond was afraid, he was nervous. He knew what he had overheard, but was it really the truth? Maybe Gaara was actually betraying Orochimaru, and his kingdom wasn't trying to find him at all. After all, he hadn't come across any faeries from Suna. Well, he hadn't actually seen any. His gaze moved from his brother to the ground, and finally Deidara gained the courage to step from his hiding spot.

A small stick he had stepped on snapped and his brother shot his head up, their blue eyes meeting one another's. Naruto was speechless at first, his mouth moving but no sounds escaping. He stumbled to his feet, and sprinted forward as Deidara's feet just stopped. He felt the pair of arms wrap around him, and a head buried itself into his chest. The elder prince couldn't control his grin, or the joy he suddenly felt. The joy was more than he had felt in a long time.

"Nii-san, how did you get here? Never mind that, I'm so glad you're home, dattebayo!"

"Naru, what happened with the potion? Why didn't anyone come to make the trade, un?'

"We honestly don't know. Someone stole it during the commotion when the Dark Forest attacked. We've been looking everywhere to find it. But whenever we tried to send messages or send parties, they were intercepted by the Sand Kingdom. Nii-san, what's going on there?"

"Dan—" Deidara stopped suddenly, "Sasori and Gaara, the Sand King, are forming a treaty. But I overheard a meeting between Gaara and one of Sasori's men, Orochimaru. I think they're planning to overthrow him."

"Serves him right! After all the shit that bastard's thrown, dattebayo!"

"You don't understand, Naru. They're going to attack the Fairy Kingdom too, un!"

"Us? But why?"

"I-I don't know. You need to warn everyone to get ready for a possible attack, un."

"What do you mean? Tell them yourself, dattebayo."

"Naruto, I'm not going with you, un."

"W-what? Why?"

"I have to go back, un."

"What do you mean you have to go back? You just got away!"

"I'm not alone, un."

Deidara pointed upwards and his brother followed his gaze, staring at the figure in the tree in shock. Sasori held his typical scowl, and his arms were crossed impatiently over his chest. The elder blond looked away and caught his brother's attention before pulling him into a tight hug, almost afraid to let him go. Naruto clung right back, and the two brothers just stayed like that for a bit until Deidara felt his wrist grabbed.

"Come on, brat. It's time to go."

Deidara looked back as Sasori landed beside him, and finally pulled away from his brother. Naruto just stared, watched as he returned to Sasori's side.


	19. Eighteen

"Brat, that's your brother, right?"

"Yeah. He looks a lot different than the last time I saw him, un."

"I've heard that he's pretty loud and hyper."

"Normally, he is. Right now he just looks kind of depressed, un."

"Maybe he just misses you, brat. You are his elder brother."

"I guess, un..."

"Why don't you go see him?"

"Wh-what, un!?"

"Find out what's going on, brat. I'm still as curious as you as to why they haven't come yet. But don't even think about running off, or I'll break your wrists."

"U-un..."

Sasori watched as Deidara slowly moved forward, fluttering off of the large branch where they stood. He began to approach the ground, and Sasori moved closer to the trunk as he watched. The blond touched ground, and quickly glanced back as the redhead took off to closer to the border. He landed in a tree where he had a clear view of the blond's brother, but he couldn't easily be spotted by just looking around.

The king didn't particularly know why he was doing this, he couldn't imagine allowing any of is previous prisoners such a chance to escape. Of course Sasori would hunt him down and return him to the Dark Forest, but he for some reason had faith that the feminine prince would not run. He didn't know why, but he could just feel it in his gut. Even if he did run though, Sasori wasn't sure if he could keep his word of breaking the brat's wrists.

The younger blonde, Naruto if he remembered correctly, looked up at a small snap, and Sasori couldn't help but chuckle at the look on both of the boys' faces. The younger tried to speak but could create no words as the elder approach. He ran to Deidara's arms, and Sasori found himself confused at the sight of the family. He had never really had a truly affectionate family. In fact, the redhead didn't think his family was happy and loving at all. He couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy.

The two burst into chatter immediately, although the king was too far away to overhear the words that were shared as the two went back and forth. Deidara seemed to be asking something, and Sasori wondered if it was about the whole love potion issue. He certainly hoped it was, as he wanted to know what was going on. He couldn't imagine the Fairy Kingdom choosing the potion over the heir. The two seemed to talk for a minute, before Deidara's body language grew a bit more reserved. Sasori scowled as the younger seemed to grow more angered, and a wave of protectiveness washed over him.

He saw Deidara look back, pointing his finger to Sasori's location. Sasori's arms crossed over his chest as the younger blond followed the gaze, and the king's eyes narrowed when the second pair of ocean blue eyes met his own. They matched Deidara's, yet they didn't hold the same fire, the same spark that the brat's did. It was difficult to explain, but it was just there; that's all there really was to it. Without it, it just wasn't Deidara.

Deidara looked away from him after a moment, before enveloping his brother in a hug. The younger shakily returned it, and Sasori knew this was his time to step in. He stepped off the branch and into the air, his wings carrying him down to his brat and his brat's brother. He reached out to wrap his finger's around Deidara's wrist, gently pulling it in order to get the prince's attention.

"Come on, brat. It's time to go."

Deidara looked back once more to glance at Sasori, and then finally pulled away from his younger brother. Naruto just stared in astonishment, watching as Deidara moved to the redhead's side. The king did not release his wrist, and instead held onto his in a possessive manner. He couldn't let the hyperactive kid get any ideas, no one was taking his brat away. At least not yet. He needed to trade him for the potion, was the lie Sasori always informed himself.

"Nii-san, this is..."

"Sasori Akasuna. I must be taking this brat now, if you'll excuse us."

"No, you can't just take him, dattebayo. He belongs here, not in your stupid forest. Guards, come quickly! Guards!"

"Naruto, please. Remember what I told you. Go tell Otousan, un."

"No, I'm not going to let him take you again!"

"Naru, please. Just go, un."

Naruto shook his head stubbornly, and Sasori couldn't help but scoff. This was the reason he was glad to be alone, he didn't have to deal with annoying family members. Well, there was Chiyo but Sasori tended to pretend they weren't related. It was easier that way, and less of a headache for the redhead. She was only his grandmother when he felt like it, which was only once or twice a week.

Sasori huffed as Naruto clung to Deidara, and he could hear people getting closer. Thinking quickly, the redhead reached into his pocket and pulled out two pill bottles he kept on him at all times. Opening the first, he took out one and grabbed the younger prince, forcing it into his mouth. He could hear sounds of horror from Deidara, and a strong guilt rose in the redhead's chest. He didn't like the sound the blond made when he had forced his brother to take poison, and he took note to only do so when absolutely necessary.

"Danna, w-what did you do, un?"

"Don't worry. It's not deadly, it'll just paralyse him for a couple days. I'm leaving the antidote too so he'll recover faster."

Sasori placed the antidote bottle down on the collapsed boy's chest and turned back to his brat, ushering him into the forest. Deidara seemed slightly distracted, and the king sighed before lifting the blond into his arms like a groom would his bride. He stretched out his wings and immediately took to the skies, carrying the prince back to his castle. Yet still, Deidara remained silent for at least a couple minutes before he seemed to snap out of his daze.

"Naruto will be okay, right, un?"

"As I said before, he'll just be paralysed for a bit and I left the antidote right there."

"Danna, when can I go home, un?"

"When the potion is returned," he replied quickly. He didn't really understand it, but he was beginning to enjoy the brat's company. The thought of him being gone was strange, and he could feel a dull ache in his heart from just thinking about it. That was fair, wasn't it? After all, he had gotten so used to having the brat around annoying him all the time. But then again, maybe for once Sasori would get some quiet.

"So, why aren't they coming, brat?"

"They can't find the potion. Someone stole it during the chaos when your kingdom attacked, and the person is keeping it hidden."

"So, looks like you'll be stuck here for another while."

"Guess so, un..."

"Come on, let's head back."

Sasori continued in the direction of his castle, carrying the silent blonde in his arms. He understood that the brat was worried for his brother, but he didn't see why he couldn't seem to fly back to the castle. The redhead told him several times that it would only paralyse him, and he left the antidote right there on his chest. It's not like they wouldn't find it, if anything they just wouldn't trust it. But still, the poison he had used couldn't physically kill him.

Soon Sasori found himself landing on the balcony in which they'd started their adventure from. He placed the prince down, but he couldn't help but notice how dead the blonde looked. To the king, it didn't make any sense. He didn't have to let the brat see his brother, but he did. Not to mention, he didn't interfere until it seemed that Deidara had pointed out his position. And all he'd done was paralyzed the kid for a day or two, plus leave the antidote so it's go away within the next couple hours.

"Brat," he barked out.

"Un?"

"I have a meeting with Gaara. Go to my room and play with some clay or whatever."

"Yes, Danna, un."

The redhead sighed as the blonde scampered down the hall, and the king turned in the opposite direction. He was heading straight towards the dining room, despite his strong dislike towards the place after recent events, to discuss the new treaty. This alliance was important to his kingdom, and many faeries had discussed the great future it would bring the Dark Forest. Sasori may have been ruthless, but he did care about his kingdom.

When he arrived at the dining room, the doors were wide open and the table was full other than his seat at the end. Still, he'd arrived directly on time meaning the others were simply early. As he entered, two servants stepped forward and the doors were closed behind them as they made their exits. The redhead took his seat at the head of the table, and he lifted his head to look at Gaara who remained at the other head.

"Sasori, you've finally decided to join us."

"I arrived at the exact minute the meeting was to begin," he replied with a slightly defensive tone.

"Yes, of course. Now, it's time to propose a new treaty contract, as the previous was argued during the prince argument."

"I understand. My terms remain the same; cheaper trade, allies provided when attacked and the sharing of information."

"I still agree to those terms," Gaara nodded. "My terms are mostly the same, although I do have a couple changes. The original terms are annual joint balls, ambassadors sent back and forth to improve both kingdoms, and shared results in weapon testing."

"I appove," Sasori agreed, "and your changes?"

"There will be no interference in wars you or I start with other countries, meaning it can not be stopped or interfered with unless the other treaty member plans to assist."

"Fine, is that all?"

"One more thing. At the three month mark, if you still possess Deidara Namikaze in the Dark Forest as a prisoner, he will be handed over to the Sand Kingdom for us to do as we please."

"Denied, the Fairy Kingdom heir is my prisoner from an issue that does not concern you."

Gaara leaned back in his chair with a frown, furrowing his forehead due to his non-existent eyebrows. Sasori couldn't help but scowl, what did the Sand Kingdom want with the brat. The Sugar Plum Fairy was his problem, and it was Sasori that kept her imprisoned and prevented her from making love potions. That had nothing to do with Suna, nor his hostage situation with the Fairy Kingdom. 

"Now, Sasori, your kingdom needs this alliance. Why let that son of your enemy ruin that?"

"The brat is to remain here until the love potion is returned," Sasori replied quickly.

"You know you can't keep him here forever, that's why you came up with the three month mark. You'll have to kill him when it reaches that time anyway, so why not hand him over? Suna could be very well benefitted with his presence, and of course we could hand over any information to you."

"He would be interrogated here, why couldn't we agree to pass all the information on?"

"Sasori, I know your methods. You can crack anyone, but the interrogators in Suna are one of a kind. You would be surprised at how much they could fuck up that kid's mind in just a couple days. They could even convince him that his kingdom is bad, and become a spy for us."

"No," the redhead growled.

"I don't know about you, but this alliance isn't fun and games to me. It is serious and if it is not created, then my kingdom will just have to take yours down," the younger redhead hissed. Sasori was at odds. He needed this alliance, but he didn't want to give Deidara to Gaara, he didn't want to ship the blonde off to Suna. It made sense, right? How Gaara's interrogators worked was truly inhumane, Sasori wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

"You need this treaty," Gaara continued. "You can't let Deidara take priority over your own kingdom. Imagine what your people would think?"

"That is not the case," Sasori snapped suddenly. "I simply have my own way of interrogation that I think would work better on the brat, since I've gotten to know him pretty well by now."

"Oh, please share. We would be happy to try out whatever you think would work best."

Sasori didn't know how to reply, "His family. He's sensitive about it. You could paralyze his younger brother for a day and leave the antidote right on his chest and the brat would walk around like the kid was six feet under."

"I'll be sure to inform our interrogators. Now, the treaty? Will you sign the paper?'

Sasori had no other excuses, "I will."

The rest of the meeting went by in a blur and all Sasori seemed to be able to do was worry over Deidara. The brat could barely handle his cruelty, Suna would destroy him. The king didn't think he could handle seeing the aftermath, and it was unlikely he would be able to avoid Deidara for the rest of his life. After all, he would end up ruling the Fairy Kingdom base don what Gaara said. And even if he somehow didn't the Suna king may show Sasori the results of the interrogation. If Suna took him, they'd turn the brat into the walking dead.

How could he let them do that?

The king frowned slightly as he was finally aloud to leave the dining room and he walked quickly and confidently to a room he thought he would never willingly go to. Perhaps they didn't get along very well, and Sasori kind of low-key despised the old hag, but Sasori needed her help. Thoughts of the love potion were forgotten, and the redhead's emotions took over. He had developed some sort of liking for the brat, Sasori supposed he considered him to be a good friend or something of the sorts. But specifics weren't important.

The only thing that mattered was getting the brat back home before it was too late.


End file.
